


Threshold (Worm Urban Fantasy AU)

by Jayf



Category: Worm - Wildbow
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-31 03:16:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8561494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayf/pseuds/Jayf
Summary: Beware the Others when they knock.





	1. Chapter 1

hreshold (Worm Urban Fantasy)

A/N Basically, due to work commitments I won't be able to work on Idol until the weekends since no access to the music I need to work on that. In between, I will be working on this instead.

Just note, there's no crossover in this one.

Thanks to

Pangolin for coming up with the idea in the Worm idea thread.

Cantrip 1.1  
/x/

Greg Veder ran his hand through his blonde hair while he followed his crush as they turned the corner of Lord Street towards her home. The lanky teen shivered as he felt the sun's heat fade away, the long shadows cast by the two of them conjuring terrors he'd rather forget. He turned his eyes to focus on the wavy haired girl that walked briskly in front of him, his own pace struggled to keep up.

"Hey. Hey wait up, Tay..."

"Silence, Veder." The object of his unwanted affections hissed. "Speak my name outside a threshold?! Seriously?"

" Sorry." Greg muttered deflated, as he pulled his blue jacket closer. "Forgot."

The girl in front of him spun around, her hair catching the dying rays of the sun.

"Sorry enough to forget how not to be spirited away?" The girl snapped before her face softened upon seeing the teen boy's stricken expression. She turned around and began to walk again, Greg followed closely behind. The boy's blue eyes fell onto her red scarf around her neck that formed a bright contrast to the white jacket she wore and his nose wrinkled at the hint of garlic it picked up.

The boy's mouth opened.

"Not a word about that time of the month, Veder."

The boy's mouth snapped shut.

The girl's footsteps slowed down to a stroll from the brisk jog a moment ago and the blonde teen found himself following. He worried as the lanky girl in front of him looked at the darkening sky, before she pulled out a newspaper clipping from her jacket.

"Sun's setting too quickly." she whispered before she tore up the paper and rained them into a pile. The teen chanted under her breath at the shreds while shadows began to lurk around the two. Then smoke and a spark, before the paper lit up into a small bonfire.

"Was that cantrip really needed, Ta." A glare silenced him before he tried again. "Hebert?"

"Vital, Veder. It's vital."

The pair began to walk again as Greg sulked in silence. The cold shoulder he was getting from Hebert rankled him, when all he asked for was a safe threshold to spend the night before the first dawn, when the automaton wards will make it safe for them to walk the streets without protection.

"It's so unfair isn't it, Greg. After all you've done for her?"

The blonde boy nodded along to his mother's encouragement and stopped to turn behind.

"Yes, Mom. It."

Greg felt himself pulled over and his eyes watered at the stinging pain he felt when he was slapped twice and shoved to the ground. His vision finally refocused amid the din he heard as Taylor Hebert spout gibberish and straddled him, her gloved hand grabbing onto his collar and holding him down. Another series of slaps struck him and his vision blurred from the pain again. He felt fingers, unusually warm streak across his cheeks and the stench of garlic caused him to gag. His eyes refocused as he saw Taylor's face stare down at him, her lips set in stone and eyes bored into him.

"Three Taboos broken in less than five minutes." The girl tsked as her bloody finger continued to draw on his face. Taking some more crushed garlic from a small plastic jar, she smeared some more of the stinging paste on his neck. His eyes wandered away from her face, before the hands grasped onto his chin and pulled his gaze back towards her.

"Not a word. Eyes on me."

Taylor reached into her jacket again, taking out a clump of salt. Despite her order's Grey's eyes wandered to the edge of his face, the lacy white cloth that reminded him of his mother's burial dress fluttered in between Taylor's wavy hair.

"I said, don't look!"

The blonde boy snapped his eyes shut at Taylor's command, but not before he saw the girl toss the salt behind her back. He heard a piercing wail that gripped his heart in fear and stiffened as he heard another bottle uncorked and the strong smell of iron nearly made him gag.

"Fucking table salt! I needed sea salt for this!"

He heard a splash, then the sound of a bottle breaking before his ears rang when there was another scream and a horrible stench caused him to throw up. He felt the hands holding him down let go along with the weight of the girl leaving him. Greg didn't waste the time and began heaving out his last meal onto the paved road.

"You're welcome."

The blonde teen turned up and saw Taylor pull a glove over a heavily tattooed hand with bloodied fingers before she began to walk away. He scrambled to his feet and jogged after her, wiping his mouth and looking around for more signs of trouble. His tension melted away as he saw the welcoming lights of the Hebert house in the distance and hurried towards the sanctuary.

As the two teenagers crossed the white fence marked with runes and wards painted in red and gold, Greg collapsed onto the grass back first and stared at the night sky.

"Hard to believe such a beautiful sky can hide such evil."

Greg yelled as he felt a kick in his side and withdrew from the glare shot at him from the wavy haired girl.

"Really," Taylor said as she extended a hand. "Nearly getting spirited away by an Other who looks like your mother? How cliche."

"So said the mighty exorcist." Greg huffed as he followed her into her home.

/x/

The girl continued to run in the dark, the illumination from the streetlights formed a sort oasis that drew her to them like a candle attracts a moth. She clung to a particularly bright lamppost and felt slightly braver as the glaring white light flooded around her, before she fished out her phone and turned on the speaker.

"Miss, where is your current location."

The calm, authoritative tone of the dispatch operator soothed the nerves as she wiped her sweaty blonde hair and rubbed the tears from her freckled cheeks.

"I've no idea! I'm just a tourist and all I see are office buildings that look the same and lots of streetlights!" The girl yelled back. "Where's the PRT?"

"We've got Paranormal Suppression en-route to your location. Please stay where you are."

"Stay?!" The blonde shrieked? "How can I stay when..."

A cry of pain and the phone was dropped, it's frame crushed by a piece of asphalt that also bruised her hand. As the tourist nursed her aching hand, she shivered as she heard humming and soft footsteps from in front of her. In the distant darkness, the blonde saw a beautiful redhead, dressed in lacy black dress, barefoot and her hair hanging loose. Deathly pale skin and a wide smile, pitch black eyes focused on the shivering girl as the slight smile widened and ruby red lips revealed rows of fangs. The redhead tread forward softly, without a care in the world. The blonde backed against the lamppost as she watched the predator close upon her. The jerky tic of the chest and arms as it mimicked breathing to hum, the sheer wrongness of the gait as it stalked her and the way the eyes and the smile stiffened like it was frozen.

"Hello there." The thing spoke in a voice that sounded like an echo carried by the wind, the chest rising and falling erratically as the lungs grasped for air to speak to it's prey.

"Why did you run after you answered me, Sarah?" It cooed as it strode towards the target. " You have any idea how difficult it is to find a Marked outside a threshold after dark? It's like it's common knowledge here or something."

"Mostly the not wanting to be eaten part." The redheaded predator's eyes glistened with delight at the sheer spunk on display as it leaned down to prepare to pounce, her fingernails extending into claws.

A dull thump and then a flash of intense light, heat and noise as a flashbang went off in the face of the ghoul. Sarah relaxed as she felt her self being dragged behind someone dressed in a black coat, boots and a cowl. Long curly hair stuffed beneath a beret with a badge as a black teenager female barely older than her stood in front of her, a crossbow with wooden bolts that smelled of a sweet scent notched and ready to fire.

"I hit the jackpot tonight." The black teenager said as she studied the hissing form of the Other who had just recovered from the shock. "Not many of us get to correct our mistakes."

The crossbow fired it's scented bolt and Sarah witnessed the sight of an unkillable being's chest she had unloaded an entire magazine's worth of 9mm rounds burst into flames upon being pierced by a simple wooden shaft barely longer than a ruler. As the Other dug out the bolt along with a lump of her breast, the black agent grinned as she prepared notched another bolt.

"Peachwood bolts!" The redhead Other snarled. The ghoul moved to escape as she turned to flee, it's head twisted at an unnatural angle as it sought to keep an eye on the crossbow wielding teen. The redhead leaped out into the darkness, before it howled as a yellow burst of light and smoke erupted where it landed. The black teenager kept her crossbow ready as she jogged over to the fallen figure of the Other as it twitched, pitch black eyes still glared hatefully at it's intended victim and her saviour. She then leaned over the semi charred figure and whispered, a predatory smile hanging on her face as she did.

"Finally, I can answer to Anne, Zoe and Hebert for failing to save the girl you took."

"Exorcist!" Sarah covered her ears at the wail of the Other, but the PRT teen remained unmoved as she took out a strip of paper with writings in blood on it. The strip began to smoke and burn as it was applied on the head of the Other as sirens in the distance began to wail.

"I am Sophia Hess." The eyes widened as the instincts of the ghoul took over as it tried to pounce on a potential victim who revealed her true name, but the collective damage done was too great for her to do much more than watch helplessly. The flames began to burn hotter and soon engulfed the Other. Sophia looked at the blackened husk that was once a creature that took the name and form of a girl she failed to save and spat on it, before she took out a notebook and marked off the name Emma Barnes from it. The exorcist nodded in satisfaction as she looked over the list of crossed out names as armoured PRT troopers streamed out of APCs and vans marked with runes painted in white and yellow. A few of the PRT came over to mark out the burnt husk with chalk as Sophia walked over to the blonde who was now holding a blanket closely around herself.

"You're a Marked yes?" Sophia didn't wait for the blonde to nod before she continued.

"You're coming with me to the Citadel."


	2. Cantrip 1.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg learns more about the work of an exorcist.

Cantrip 1.2  
/x/

Greg whistled as he stepped pass the front door of the Hebert home, as he studied the furnishings of the living room of the girl who took him in. A flat screen TV with a wooden plaque hung over it, symbols and verses from some text he didn't recognise carved into the wood and painted over in white. The walls were painted beige, with the edge of each wall marked with a red line. The grass green drapes over tightly shut windows smelled of sandalwood and roses, while the beige carpets had more charms sewn into the borders of the material in gold.

"A bit paranoid, don't you think?"

Taylor shrugged as she removed her shoes and placed them on a rack, which prompted the blonde boy to follow.

"Can never be too careful when dealing with the Others." Greg felt really small when the wavy haired exorcist cast a judging gaze on him. Taylor gestured for him to follow as they sat down at the kitchen table. As she set the kettle to boil, the exorcist pulled up a chair opposite Greg and began writing into a pocket journal she pulled out from her pants pockets.

"You mentioned I was paranoid." Taylor said without moving her gaze from her journal.

"Explain."

Greg Veder's chest puffed with pride.

"Well, let's start with the clearly marked out walls. Despite the beige paint and the paintings you hung over them, it's clear you had a boundary field set up on each of them."

The blonde pointed at the borders closest to the front door, then moved his finger towards the successively redder lines as they led to the kitchen.

"The borders signify the strength of the field. The thicker the line, the stronger they are as they absorb the energy of the previous boundary."

"Clever deduction, Greg." The wavy haired exorcist said without lifting her head. "Except each of the fields are just as strong as the previous one, and I had a field set up per brick."

Greg's smug grin fell for a second, before it recovered.

"Like I said, paranoia. And I did get the part about the fields correct!" His voice grew more excited as he pointed to the drapes.

"And the drapes? An obvious defence against scrying and to ward off any wandering Others with the smell."

Taylor snapped the journal shut before she gave a slight smile towards the blonde boy, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"I suppose you got the yew wood charm to ward off possible infiltration too."

The blonde teen gave a smug grin which had returned in full force after Taylor had deflated it moments ago.

"Not even a shithole like Winslow will skimp on mandatory Protection class." The exorcist cocked her head at the triumphant smile from Greg, who continued to boast.

"And I paid attention."

Taylor removed her black jacket and laid it on her chair. Greg cast an appreciative gaze at her tall, slim figure in black pants, white shirt and brown vest with bulging pockets.

"Didn't do much good for you this afternoon did it, Veder."

Taylor winced as the blonde's expression fell.

"Sorry, that was despicable of me." Taylor shook her head at Greg's attempt to speak. "I was wrong. Something awful happened and it was over the line."

The exorcist walked over to the kettle and poured the steaming liquid into a mug, before setting a tea bag, ice and a straw into a mug. She then placed the mug before Greg, her smiling face now only inches away from the blonde's own.

Triumphs have to be savoured after all, and the exorcist was savouring it fully as she spoke.

"Your next line is, Let me help you with that."

Greg sat stiff as a statue, with only his eyes moving from side to side. Taylor cracked open the diary she was writing in and showed him the page she was working on. The boy looked at the outline of the kitchen drawn on the page, with his name written next to where his chair would be.

"Or it would be, if you could speak."

The exorcist opened Greg's lips and slipped the straw in, giving him an apologetic smile. She looked at the shadow cast by the blonde boy and nodded in satisfaction.

"You probably thought the whistling kettle was a defence I set up," Taylor said "against possible hypnotism in case you were compromised."

A grey cloud billowed out of Greg's shadow, the smoke hovered above the boy's head before it formed into the shape of a pale, thin man with thinning hair. The blonde boy found himself unable to remove his gaze from the sunken cavity below the spirit's neck, the hole barely covered by bandages. Greg shivered as pitch black eyes glared at him.

"It is, but it's also a distraction while he," Taylor pointed at the newcomer, " gets to work on possessing your shadow."

Greg kept his eyes fixed on the grey figure, ignoring Taylor.

"But don't worry, because I've also taken the time to set up a secondary threshold here in the kitchen so you don't go snooping around while I'm busy."

"Dad, this is Greg Veder." Taylor said as she reached for her own mug and took a sip.

"Greg, my father Danny."

Taylor set her mug down on the table as she took out a roll of red string from the kitchen cabinet.

"Dad, why don't you release the bind on his mouth so he can share a drink with you and chat?"

Greg swallowed nervously as he felt his control over his mouth and throat return. A nervous tic on his left eyelid developed, as the ghostly figure helped put back the straw as it fell from his mouth. The exorcist shrugged at the two in the kitchen as she put on a pair of slippers and reached for the back door into the yard.

"Sorry for doing this, but I need my privacy."

Taylor gave one last look at her guest and father, her hand hovered above the door knob.

"Have fun."

They looked at Taylor as she gave her cheery goodbye before the door closed. Greg gave a nervous smile to the grim face of the Hebert patriarch.

"So," Danny's voice echoed, the hole throbbed as he spoke.

"I've heard some interesting things from my daughter about you."

/x/

Taylor stared at the makeshift shed that stood in the middle of her yard, as moisture rolled down the sloped tin roof and the chicken wire walls rattled. The bamboo grove within the shed was partially shrouded in a dark cloud, while sounds of chewing and wailing came out from the shadowed parts of the shed. A lump was spat out and Taylor pinched her nose at the stench from a vaguely baby shaped lump of raw meat that landed with a splat at the door of the shed. The exorcist removed a satchel from her vest, before she poured yellow ash onto the lump and began to chant. The ash lit up and Taylor began to heave in relief as the flames consumed the pile. The sobs grew louder, as the exorcist watched a woman with long, wavy black hair crawl out of the dark. Her mouth was stained with blood and meat, her fingers stained brown with dirt. Brown eyes like her own stared at her, pleading.

"Taylor? It's me, your mom." Her hands groped the wire walls, but fell back with a shriek when sparks flew when she touched the mesh.

The wavy haired girl removed the roll of red string and began to run the string through the eye of a sewing needle.

"Really? I dunno. She kinda died when she gave birth to me."

The woman tried to approach the mesh again, her body mere inches from it.

"Taylor, please. I know it's hard to forgive what I did. But when you laid out this invitation for me," The woman pointed at the burning lump, "I knew you wanted us to reunite again."

"The aborted fetus is actually more bait, along with the shed and bamboo grove serving as a snare."

The exorcist removed the glove on her right hand, revealing an array of tattoos over a pale slender hand with fingernails caked with blood.

"But if you're really the leech who wears the body and face of Annette Hebert, then this silver needle and thread with my menses blood should do fuck all against you."

The Other opened her mouth, but Taylor threw the needle and thread at the forehead of the woman like a dart. The tip of the needle began to smoke and the red string wrapped around the neck of the Other as the string glowed like a fire engine's siren.

It screamed briefly, before it was choked by the bloody string and the needle dug into then pass the head of the Other.

Taylor opened the door to the shed and watched, as the darkness around the bamboo faded away along with the body of the Other which began to melt into a grey slush. The exorcist fished out a popsicle stick, hesitated before dipping it into the slush.

Taylor looked hesitantly at the stick, before she touched the sludge coated tip of the stick and it lit up like a match.

"Chin up, girl. "Taylor muttered under her breath. "Gotta do this to remain human."

The exorcist swallowed the flaming stick, before she fell to her knees and began throwing up grey sludge.

Grey smoke gathered and formed into the shape of a thin man. Danny looked upon the heaving figure of his daughter, his pitch black eyes filled with concern as he knelt down to rub her back. The exorcist fell back onto her butt, taking care to avoid sitting on the sludge.

"You don't have to do this, kid."

Taylor's eyes gave a sideway glance at her father, before she snorted.

"I kinda have to, Dad. Not after what that thing wearing Mom's face and name did to you."

The exorcist stood up, brushing off the damp grass from her pants.

"Besides, Mom needs her eternal rest in Paradise." Taylor paused, before she noticed her father wasn't with her guest.

"Where's Veder?"

"He's passed out." The ghost said. "Not sure if he's suitable if you're looking for a partner."

The exorcist chuckled lightly, before she started to walk towards the house.

"Taylor."

The wavy haired girl paused, her face tense as she recognised the tone her father was using.

"Why did you leave the house without me or your Relic."

Danny held out a dagger, the silver blade and ornately decorated hilt glowed in the moonlight.

"Said it a million times, Dad." Taylor continued marching towards the house, pointedly not looking at her father.

"Just because you're my Guardian Spirit, doesn't mean I'm comfortable with using you like a tool."


	3. Cantrip 1.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Sarah Livesney, Soothsayer.

Cantrip 1.3

/x/

Sarah's eyes widened in amazement as their gaze fell onto the gothic monument that was the Citadel, home of the local PRT. Thick brick walls painted over with a bright shade of white with the monotony broken by zigzag lines of deep red and yellow. On top of the imposing outer wall that loomed over the streets of Brockton Bay's downtown, battlements ran across it with guard towers that had rods crafted into the shape of tridents that reached into the sky. Sarah stared at the trucks that cruised languidly along the roads, loudspeakers on their roofs blaring out some kind of hymn or prayer in several languages she didn't understand and English. A massive gate stood in the middle of the wall, made of a metal that glowed with cursive writing that shone in a script that Sarah didn't recognise running down the polished surface. Every ten seconds, a wave of green light burst out from the Citadel, coating Downtown in a blanket of illumination.

The sun begun to rise, and Sarah strained her neck as she stared at the dancing streaks of colour that accompanied the rise of the morning sun.

"It's surreal," Sarah said as she watched the speaker trucks roll down the street, tailed by the Brockton PD cruisers. "This whole scene's like something out of a gothic fantasy."

Sophia arched an eyebrow at her charge's fascination and watched from the rear view mirror as Sarah peered out of the car's window from her backseat.

"You never saw Paranormal Suppression patrols in Iowa?"

Sarah turned to face Sophia at her query, her green eyes still starry from the novel experience.

"Nope!" Sarah quipped in a tone too cheery for Sophia's comfort. "The only thing Iowa produced was corn and Bibles made from corn fibre."

Both of them exchanged glances, before Sarah's grin faded slightly.

The car reached the gate and the doors were opened by PRT troopers wearing blue body armour that bore the same writing Sarah saw engraved on the gate, their helmets covered their faces with a clear metal plate that reflected her clearly. A small spherical camera was visible on the right side of the dark blue helmet and it recorded her as the troopers placed iron shackles on her hands and feet, green vines curling around the metal of the cuffs tickled her limbs.

"Try not to attempt escape, Ms Livsey." Sophia said as she grabbed onto her charge's arm. "Mandragora vines leave such nasty burns when people attempt to break them."

Sarah looked at the leafy, frail looking vines on the shackles, then turned her gaze to Sophia.

"You won't believe me if I told you I'm not what you think I am. Would you, Sophia."

"As far as suspicious Marked goes," Sophia said as she began to haul Sarah past the gates that began to open. "You're very human. Not a trace of spiritual contamination anywhere."

A trooper removed a glass vial filled with cotton from where Sarah's seat in the car and passed it to Sophia, who gingerly removed a needle from the cotton and showed it to Sarah.

"Only a bit of tarnish in the needle." Sophia said as she gestured to the eye of the needle. "Most people your age would have gotten a bit more contamination on this silver needle due to life time exposure to the Veil Colors."

"Which," Sarah interjected to her escort's surprise, "is a cause for concern also."

"Keep this up Ms Livsey, and we may have to re-evaluate your non-contaminated status."

/x/

Greg looked at Taylor as she sat across from him, her slender gloved hands alternating between fiddling with her battered, rune-marked smartphone and flipping the pages of her black leather-bound journal.

"Thing's creepy," Greg thought as he fixed his eyes on the journal that his crush had used to seize him. "But not as creepy as her GS."

"Eye's up here, Veder." Taylor quipped as she slid the journal into her jacket and fished out her phone again. "Not that I've got much of a chest for you to ogle."

"Y'know, you can call me Greg here in a PRT Preacher truck." Taylor's eyes turned up from her phone, widened in surprise at Greg's hurt tone. "Why are you so distant, after you risked your life to save me?"

Taylor slid the phone into her jacket, her face a stern mask as she glared at Greg who returned the stare with a hurt look. Taylor then sighed as she leaned forward, her face only a few inches away from Greg's.

"You're aware I'm a Returner right?" Greg winced as Taylor mentioned the R-word. "My presence attracts the Others, and one of them got to your father when he was driving you to school."

"That's not your fault!" Greg shouted, drawing the attention of the PRT driver and escort seated at the front of the truck as they slid open a latch to peep at the two teens, before it shut as the troopers saw nothing unusual. Greg muttered apologies under his breath in the direction of the PRT personnel, before he turned back to face Taylor.

"As I was saying, the Others will always attack us if given the chance." Greg reached out and grabbed Taylor's right hand. "But Exorcists like yourself protect us from the menace."

Greg squeezed her hand.

"You saved me."

Taylor looked at Greg's large hand over her own before she glared daggers at the blonde boy. Greg released her hand with a yelp.

"Thank you, Greg." Taylor rolled her eyes as Greg's face broke into a silly grin." But as I said, I'm a Returner. The only reason I wasn't subjected to an Exorcism or sent to the Birdcage was because I'm somehow still below the Manton Scale after I conduct a Purging ritual."

Greg moved to speak, but his words died in his mouth as Taylor's eyes cut him off with a cold stare.

"Thank you, Greg." Taylor said as she laid back onto the wall of the transport and closed her eyes. "I really appreciate it. But there's a reason why I'm expected to report to the Citadel for a measurement on the Scale every forty-nine days."

"It's just so unfair, Taylor." Greg gritted out, "You're as good an Exorcist as anyone, but you're under so much suspicion."

"Sentiment's appreciated, Greg." Taylor snorted out, her eyes shut as she tried to rest amidst the blaring of the speakers above them. "But life wasn't fair before the Tearing of the Veil, and it certainly isn't after that."

A deep rumbling sound accompanied by screeching metal drowned out the repeating prayers and hymns, then the dim interior of the truck was flooded by bright light. Greg's squinted eyes made out several PRT troopers standing outside the truck, with a bearded man in a blue uniform and long grey shawl standing in their centre. Words written in mercury squirmed on the long shawl which reached the hip of the bearded man, who adjusted a pair of thick glasses with a brass frame as he sized up the pair inside the Preacher truck. Slung on his back was a black wooden staff seven feet tall, with an orb of swirling mercury

Greg stumbled out of the truck before he stood in front of the bearded man as he shook with excitement. Greg reached for the bearded man's hand and shook it hard, and got a small smile in greeting.

"You're Vulcan, the leader of the Brockton Bay Paranormal Suppression Team!" Greg said breathlessly. "I'm your biggest fan! I started so many threads about you on PHO!"

Vulcan patted Greg's back followed by a friendly smile, before he turned to Taylor who had just strolled out of the truck. The gears on Vulcan's brass framed glasses whirled as he stared intently at the younger Exorcist, the mercury on his staff and shawl began to quiver at this action. Taylor stood silently in front of Vulcan, hands by the side as she looked right into the brass glasses evaluating her. Greg glanced nervously at the two, before the mechanism on Vulcan's glasses retracted and the posture of the two engaged in a standoff relaxed.

"You're Taylor Anne Heber?" Vulcan asked in a deep baritone, a business like smile on his lips. "Independent Exorcist, registered Runic name Orpheus?"

"We do this every time I arrive for an inspection, Wallis." Taylor said as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes and yes."

"Standard protocol, Orpheus." Vulcan said as his business smile was replaced with a frown. "You're a bad influence on Schwarz when it comes to names."

"Not my fault Hess developed some kind of survivor's complex after that encounter our families had with the Others." Taylor shrugged as she waved at the Citadel campus they were standing on. "Besides, we're in a threshold as strong as any here in the Bay."

"Still a bad, possibly lethal habit to develop." Vulcan admonished as he turned to walk towards an office building that stood in the middle of the compound. Taylor started to follow before she heard Greg cry out in protest and turned back to the blonde boy, who was struggling under the grip of a PRT trooper.

"What do you mean I can't follow her?" Greg shouted as he squirmed under the grip of the trooper. "I'm her friend!"

"Not really." Taylor thought as she saw the trooper launch into a prepared spiel about how only registered partners and apprentices of Exorcists were allowed to accompany them on official business.

"Veder." Greg stopped his squirming at Taylor's voice, but looked at her with hurt eyes on the exorcist using his last name again." I'm sorry but this isn't the sort of thing you should be involved in. Why don't you follow the PRT, and get their help to sort out your family affairs?"

"Taylor, I..!"

"Please, Greg. For your sake." Taylor cut in and watched as he deflated, before Greg followed the troopers who escorted him away. Her eyes wandered away from the sight of Greg being led away towards the college campus like compound of the Citadel, short brick buildings mixed with taller office towers made of glass and steel. Tour groups led by blue uniformed PRT troopers and even the occasional black beret wearing Exorcist wandered around the paved pathways and green fields, as the rising sun cast an orange glow on the compound.

Taylor looked back as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and stared into Vulcan's face spotting a gentle smile.

"Never knew you can smile like that, Wallis." Taylor said. "You're not very good at it."

"You're not the only teenage troublemaker I had to deal with, Orpheus." Vulcan then patted the back of the younger Exorcist, before leading her towards the central tower.

/x/

Taylor hesitated as she stood on the edge of the smooth wooden bridge that led to the Manton Scale's pan, her eyes poring over the brass and gold design of the machine. A large balance scale the size of a theatre's projection screen loomed large in the middle of the room. A large pipe with bronze and copper carvings over the body was connected to the roof of the otherwise barren room, as it lurked over the other pan on the beam.

Taylor hesitated before she adjusted her hospital gown that provided some semblance of modesty over her heavily tattooed body. Behind her stood a tanned woman in a nun's habit of red, white and blue. A glowing ball of energy hovered around the nun, as she looked at Taylor's hesitant form with concern.

"Orpheus….sorry, Taylor. Do you need more time to prepare?" Taylor looked at the nun, steeled her nerves and shook her head as she stepped onto the weighing pan.

"I'm fine, Sister Hannah." Taylor said as she tugged at the edges of her gown. "I've been through this so many times now."

"Not that it makes things easier," Taylor thought as the nun nodded before she reached into her energy ball and pulled out a bronze winding key and inserted it into a wooden lectern. Sister Hannah gazed at Taylor again, before she turned the key and the Manton Scale came to life with the rumble of grinding gears.

Taylor watched the pipe shook, the sound of gushing liquid announcing the arrival of a flood of grey sludge that poured out of pipe and onto the pan. The base of the Manton Scale parted, revealing an enormous eye which slowly turned its gaze upwards towards Taylor. Taylor looked back at the eye of the Manton Scale as it gazed on her in judgement, her breathing slow and controlled.

The flow of grey sludge stopped, and Sister Hannah alternated between looking at Taylor and the measurements on the lectern. Both females in the room held their breath as the eye continued to stare, before they heaved a sigh of relief as it slowly began to close. Sister Hannah tore out a printed report which was printed out from the lectern, read it and her tense expression softened. Taylor began walking towards the nun, who removed a bathrobe from the glowing ball and handed it over to Taylor.

"Khoramancy is so useful." Taylor said as she put on the bathrobe over her thin gown." Wish my Mark was something like yours."

"The ability to manipulate space is handy." Sister Hannah said, "But of course, all Marks exact a price."

Taylor looked at the nun's lifeless eyes, as she passed the white cane resting on the lectern to Sister Hannah.

"You don't really need the cane, do you?"

"Nope." Sister Hannah said as she tapped the ground with the cane." But it's comforting and it gives the newer Acolytes a false sense of confidence they can pull the wool over my eyes."

Taylor groaned.

"You're getting as bad as Dennis, Sister."

"First name basis already with Hourglass?" Sister Hannah teased as she dodged a punch to the shoulder. "That young boy you rescued will be so disappointed."

"Oh shush!" Taylor huffed as she followed the nun out of the room. "If he hadn't managed to make his own surname sound like an obscene pun, I'd be using that instead."

/x/

Sarah grinned her vulpine grin that her powers told her will be the cause of no end of irritation to people around her, with the added welcome side effect of throwing them off their game.

Sarah decided she liked this as the bearded cape who called themselves Exorcists here felt very tempted to start pulling at his facial hair in frustration, since he was seeing his world view undergo a nasty paradigm shift.

"So you are saying you're from an alternate Earth called Earth Bet, and you were running away from a paid mall cop called an Enforcer when a loud voice rang out."

Vulcan slapped the folder shut, his eyes glared at the teenage offworlder.

"I personally find it hard to believe, considering this means you came from the other side of the Veil yet have almost zero spiritual contamination. " The gears on his glasses whirled as they continued to read Sarah. "But apparently, you believe yourself to be telling the truth."

"And." Sarah said as she latched onto the verbal opening." Your own tests confirm I've not been contaminated by this Others you keep harping on about."

"Indeed, Ms Livsey." Vulcan conceded. "To top it off, your ability to dig out secrets of complete strangers which you used to acquire the phone you called us from is not telepathy caused by a Mark, but rather it's a superpower."

"You can drop the super bit." Sarah said, making sure her vulpine grin was large and mocking. "That went out of style in the nineties."

"Good for you, being so honest with us, Ms Livsey." Vulcan said as he re-opened her file. "Your powers I'm sure would have briefed you on what we do to mind readers."

"It did." Sarah admitted. "That's why I confessed to cold reading being my power rather than telepathy like I planned to do. And I thought we were paranoid."

"As you slowly learn of our world, Ms Livsey." Vulcan said. "You will find despite not having parahumans, our troubles with the Others and more are no less justifying our measures taken to counter them."

The chest of Vulcan's blue uniform stirred, as a small metallic gecko model crawled out from underneath the shirt.

"Don't you agree, Dracul?" The gecko miniature turned a pair of shiny eyes towards Vulcan, before a female voice rang out from the doll.

"I agree, Vulcan." Sarah backed slightly into her chair at the unusual sight of a mechanical lizard the size of a man's palm twisting its head a hundred eighty degrees to meet her. "A warm welcome to our world, Sarah."

"Going straight to first names, I see." Sarah said, "Not that I mind very much."

"Glad to hear it, Sarah."

The gecko doll then turned back towards Vulcan, leaping onto the shoulder of the bearded man in a single bound.

"I understand from Director Piggot that we are planning to establish the Hebert home as a strong point from which to conduct a large scale Purification of that part of Brockton Bay?"

"That we are." Vulcan said. "I was going to broach the subject once she comes to me for her exit interview."

"Then I propose that Ms Sarah Livsey be attached to Orpheus for her education."

Vulcan removed the brass frame glasses and began to rub his nose and eyes.

"I'm waiting for the explanation, Dracul."

"Rather than ensconcing Sarah in a room somewhere in the Citadel, she can best learn of our home if she's placed outside, but in a still safe location." Dracul said. "There's also the fact that Orpheus is applying for her license outside of the Acolyte system which she had a hard time adjusting to."

"And you believe that the responsibility of a house guest will teach her maturity?" Vulcan said. "I don't think that she'd be amiable to this."

"I've checked on the compensation we are offering Orpheus for each Exorcist and personnel we camp within her place." The lizard model touched the side of Vulcan's glasses, prompting a string of words to rain down on the lens." I think these are pretty generous terms we are offering her, and it would be very helpful for her financial situation."

Both exorcist and doll turned to look at Sarah, who looked pensive with a frown as she pondered.

"Personally, after nearly being eaten by that freaky redhead? I prefer somewhere nice and safe here." Then the grin returned, looking wider than before. Sarah leaned forward, her eyes glistening with anticipation.

"But my powers tell me that it's going to be fun, compared to virtual house arrest here." Sarah said. "I'm in if she's okay with it."


	4. Cantrip 1.4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cape meets Exorcist. Sees dead people.

Cantrip 1.4

/x/

Sophia watched as Taylor walked out of the female changing room with Sister Hannah, her black jacket's sleeves fluttered as Taylor walked towards her from across the empty corridor.

"Hey, Hebert!"

Several pairs of eyes looked upon her with disapproval, including the dull glare of Sister Hannah. But Taylor looked at her with mild surprise on her face, as she stopped for a beat before she shrugged and waved in greeting.

"Hello, Hess." Taylor said as she walked closer to Sophia. "Never thought of you as the meet and greet type."

Sophia pulled out a ziploc bag filled with long red hair from her pocket, which caused Taylor to fix her gaze on it.

"Is that..." Taylor said as she pointed a shaking finger at the bag of hair. Sister Hannah looked at the two girls, before she walked several feet ahead of the two.

"It is." Sophia said as she handed the bag over to a shaken Taylor. Sophia's hand hovered awkwardly above Taylor's shoulders, unsure what to do next.

"Emma." Taylor whispered as she clutched the plastic bag. A few stifled sobs, before Taylor returned the hair to Sophia.

"Thanks." Taylor said with a sad smile. "Does Anne and the rest of her family know?"

"Yeah." Sophia said as she tried to look away before she settled on staring at her shoes. "I've called them once the lab confirmed the DNA match with the Barnes' sample."

"Guess we're even then." Taylor said with a chuckle as she wiped her eyes. "Thanks."

"No, we're not even, Hebert." Sophia said. "Not until I make up for what happened to you."

Taylor looked into Sophia's eyes at her declaration, before shaking her head as she walked away.

"Carry that weight with you if you wanna, Hess." Taylor said as she walked towards a waiting Sister Hannah. "Not gonna try dissuading you."

As it should be, Sophia thought as she watched Taylor and her guide turn past a corner and into an elevator.

Taylor kept her gaze fixed on the glowing runes etched into the walls and doors of the elevator, while Sister Hannah tapped her cane against the floor.

"So Taylor," Sister Hannah said while Taylor kept her gaze firmly fixed on the runes, "You attending the Barnes' sending off?"

Taylor remained silent, the drone of the lift's motors filling the air.

"I'm conducing the sending, you know," Sister Hannah said, "The Barnes, especially Anne have expressed a wish through Sophia that you attend."

"It should've been me," Taylor snapped, "Emma pushed me out of the Tear!"

The elevator doors opened opposite Vulcan's office, and Taylor walked briskly out as she left Sister Hannah behind.

"Sent you a text," Sister Hannah shouted as the doors closed, "Remember to read it for the details of the sending off!"

/x/

Taylor glared at the blonde girl with the infuriating grin and the exorcist who was about to stick her with the job of babysitting her.

"So, Orpheus. As I was say-"

"I heard you the first time. About you wanting to use my home as an orphanage."

Vulcan paused at the interruption, before he pulled out a plain folder from his drawer and handed it over to Taylor. Vulcan sat silently, his hands folded together while Sarah busied herself with reading Taylor's expression and the many simmering vials and bottles of coloured liquid in the office. The mercury ball on Vulcan's staff reached towards Sarah by extending a tendril of itself, the extension hovered above her face before it expanded into a woman's face.

"No, Servatis! Bad homunculus!"

Sarah's eyes widened as she saw the mercury change into a puppy as it whined towards its master.

"Now, Servatis!"

"It's alive," Sarah said as she watched the silver liquid reform into a ball on Vulcan's staff, "the mercury is alive. Even my power agrees."

"If you're shocked by that," Taylor said as she snapped the folder shut," You'll die when I show you the sights in the Afterdark District."

Taylor ignored the flood of questions that burst from an excited Sarah as she fixed Vulcan with a hard stare. She slid the folder back towards Vulcan and began to tap the polished wooden surface of the desk.

"I'm gonna need more money," Taylor said, "I've got one Returner and one Marked from some unknown dimension in my threshold. I'm going to need all the fortifying materials yesterday!"

"Not happening," Vulcan said flatly, "We're already helping you strengthen your home's threshold as part of the payment for using your place as a staging point."

"Why not?" Sarah said, as her interruption drew surprised looks from the exorcists. "I mean, Taylor here obviously has financial and family issues considering she's a minor and is also unable to get a foster family because of her unique background. You guys owe her."

Taylor reached into her jacket.

"How did you know m-" Taylor's eyes narrowed. "your ability."

"Power, please," Sarah said smoothly, "it just doesn't sound professional if you call it something else."

Taylor sniffed before she turned back to Vulcan and pointed towards Sarah's grinning face.

"She's as smug and insufferable as she's right."

Taylor dangled an open palm faced upwards into Vulcan's face.

"Pay up, Wallis."

/x/

Sarah stretched as she and Taylor stepped out of the Preacher truck, which thankfully wasn't blasting prayers and hymns at deafening volumes. The early noon breeze brushed against Sarah's face as the willow trees swayed in the sun, and she focused on the colours still dancing in the sky as the Preacher truck drove away.

"Beautiful aren't they?"

Sarah turned around at Taylor's comment and saw her pointing towards the lights.

"The Veil Colors. You learned about them while in the Citadel?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, " They appeared three decades ago when two figures, golden male and silver female appeared."

"The Tearing of the Veil," Taylor said as she removed a syringe and a packet of needles from her jacket," they appeared suddenly and could be seen in every corner of the Earth at once. Then the Colors appeared and swarmed them."

Sarah watched nervously as Taylor began to assemble the needle and syringe, while eyeing her right arm.

"Form a fist, so that I can find your veins easier." Taylor said, "now where was I? Oh yeah. After Goldie and Silverlocks were swarmed by the light show, the world heard this ripping sound, like a drape cut ripped in half."

Sarah stood frozen on the spot as she watched Taylor approach, needle in hand and a gleeful smile on her face.

"It's gonna hurt bad, isn't it? That's why you're distracting me?"

"Maybe it will," Taylor said as she poked the needle in, " And after that, the Others and magic started appearing along with the first Marked."

Sarah hissed as the needle was finally removed from her arm, before she winced as Taylor pressed down on her wound with a swab of cotton.

"Orpheus? That really hurt."

"I aim to please, Livsey," Taylor said as she shook the syringe, "I'm a lot of things, having good bedside manners isn't one of them."

"Such modesty, Orpheus," Sarah said before her face fell, " Oh, and first name please. Using my family name reminds me of things I'd rather not rake up."

Taylor splashed the red liquid across the the fence's gate by throwing the syringe at it, which caused the syringe to shatter. The symbols painted on the fence glowed momentarily as Taylor began chanting rapidly, before the light faded and she nodded in satisfaction. Taking Sarah by the hand, Taylor dangled it over the fence and held it there for a minute before letting go.

"Congrats. You didn't burst into flames, so that means you're not an Other in disguise."

Sarah yelped in surprise as she jumped away from the fence, before she glared at Taylor.

"Just kidding. I wasn't really doing something that would have you potentially burst into flames." Taylor said as she mimicked the grin that Sarah used to annoy her. She pushed the gate open and gestured for her guest to follow as they entered the yard, Sarah's gaze drawn to the painted symbols across the fence and the pillars along the porch.

"So, if you don't want me to call you by your last name, and I can't address you by first name outside a threshold because of the taboo," Taylor said as she opened the front door, "I suppose you've got a runic name ready?"

"Sure I do," Sarah said as she gave a deep bow, "Soothsayer."

Taylor arched an eyebrow, before she shook her head as she chuckled.

"That's an invitation for trouble, if I've ever heard one."

"Well, Trouble's the middle name, Orpheus," Sarah said with a grin, "Don't wear it out."

"Cheeky." Taylor said as she crashed onto the couch and was joined by Sarah.

"Rest up y'all and get some food." Taylor said in between yawns. "Tonight we're going on a Purification patrol and a shopping trip down to the Afterdark if we've got the time."

A cloud of black smoke formed behind the couch, as Sarah jumped onto her feet. She pointed her handgun at the looming figure, her grip shaking at the sight of a shadowy man with a neck cavity covered in bandages.

"Now young lady," Danny said as he looked at the gun with a smile," On our world, we find it very rude to point a gun at your host."

"Actually, Dad,I'm technically the host since I'm the only living member of the house right now."

"Shit, Orpheus, your Dad's dead?! What the fuck!"

"Language. And the PC term is Guardian Spirit for any Other bound to serve an exorcist, whatever the actual origin of the Other maybe." Taylor said as she wagged a finger at her guest. She turned to her father, who folded his arms and looked at Taylor with a disapproving frown.

"What's this I heard about you going on a patrol and the Afterdark?"

"Just bringing the new girl to a tour around town, Dad," Taylor said with a shrug," you haven't had a chance to visit the Afterdark yourself for awhile haven't you?"

"Now listen here young la- wait?" Danny's voice turned hopeful, "You're bringing me along?"

"Yeah, with Purge ritual done for these seven weeks, I don't have to bait any Others for a while. I just hope I don't have to use you."

"Famous last words, Orpheus." Sarah quipped as she walked into the kitchen.

/x/

A/N- So a build up chapter and mostly dialogue to establish the budding relationship between Sarah and Taylor. Next chapter will be Sarah's first Purification patrol and a visit to the Afterdark.

I will also be switching to a first person POV next chapter on. It helps the writing flow better regards to Orpheus' internal narration.


	5. Cantrip 1.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah learns why uncooked rice works on Asian vampires.

Cantrip 1.5

Sarah/Soothsayer

/x/

I glanced at the clock that hung on the wall, as the digital display showed another half hour till six, when the sun was supposed to set. The TV with the wooden plaque that dangled on top of the screen drove home the point I wasn't on Bet anymore.

"It is now half an hour before sundown. All citizens are reminded to seek shelter at the nearest threshold if they're unable to reach their homes."

I tuned out the rest of the PSA which told me how it's illegal for any establishment to deny shelter to people with the proper ID, as I dug into a near empty bag of potato chips while the mixed feelings of boredom and dread weighed down on me as I counted down to sunset. I looked at the basement door, just in time to see Danny come out using his favourite method of turning into a dark cloud and scaring the shit out of me.

Well, maybe not so much the last part. After seeing a man in greyscale with a hole in the neck for most of a day, you stop being freaked out about things like ghosts bound to serve a moody teenage exorcist.

And I thought my homeworld with superpowers and unkillable giant monsters was weird. Shows how little I knew.

"Hello Sarah," Danny said in that weird, echoing voice of his. I guess I can't really blame him since there's a hole where his throat was, but still.

"Hi, Danny. Can you stop doing that?"

It's cute, in a freaky way, how his wrinkled eyelids fluttered over those pitch black eyes as he blinked.

"The whole echo thing, "I said as I threw up my hands for effect, "it's really freaking me out."

"Hmm, okay," Danny said. The bandages around his neck stopped throbbing as he began to speak again.

"How about this instead?"

I admit it, I screamed. But Christ, that was awfully freaky when you literally hear a voice in your head.

"I'll take the echo!"

Danny was classy enough to not laugh at my expense, something I suspected his daughter isn't. He sat down on the chair next to the couch I was on as I turned my power on him, to get some information on the first Other I've met that wasn't actively trying to kill and eat me.

Nope, nothing. Well, not nothing. Just plenty of nonsense. Their Marked I can draw something out of, but like that freaky redhead that tried to eat me these Others themselves gave me nothing except a mess and a headache.

"So, Danny. You died then you filled up a form to continue smothering your kid?"

"Oh, no forms needed here," Danny said," just an encompassing desire for something on this side of the Veil, a suitably dramatic death if you were once human and a Marked determined enough."

"Wait, so there are Guardian Spirits who were never human?"

Danny nodded and I tried to avert my gaze from going down where the wound was. Damn my morbid curiosity!

"Yes, not all spirits were humans once, not all exorcists has a spirit and even among those formerly human guardians not all are the deceased like myself." Danny got this distant look in his eye as he spoke, as if remembering something. Well, it didn't take me too long to connect the dots.

"You were an exorcist yourself weren't you, Danny?"

"Indeed. I-"

"Enough with the info dump, Dad."

We both turned towards the basement door as Orpheus stepped out, dressed in a tank top, close fitting shorts and holding onto a belt with many pouches attached to it. Steam billowed out of the room and I felt the heat and humidity from the basement before Orpheus shut it and a rune flashed on the door before it disappeared.

At least, I thought it was a rune. Hey, cape here. Not some occult expert.

Hmm, now that I thought about it, most of the younger exorcists are dressed like valets in a mob nightclub. So the sight of my landlady dressed in something different was certainly refreshing. And damn, was she ripped! How'd she hide those six pack abs in that beanpole frame?

"Had fun inside your cave, Orpheus?"

"Taylor."

"Excuse me?"

"Taylor," she said as she wiped herself with a towel. "Call me that when we're inside a friendly threshold."

"Sarah then. So how do I know if a threshold's friendly?"

Taylor gave me the look I used on people who walked into Empire turf while being a minority. Hey, dimensionally stranded alien here!

"Two basic rules, though exceptions apply when I inform you. Basica-"

"If it's owned by a human and not trying to kill you, then it's friendly."

I only wished I had my mirror with me, because damn the grin on my face must be priceless considering the glare Taylor shot me. Hey, that'll teach you to treat me like an idiot.

"Correct," Taylor said grudgingly," and nice power by the way. Pity it doesn't work on Others huh?"

Who's a little smartass? Yes you are! Managed to guess that simply seeing me pump your dad for information huh?

Taylor cricked her neck as she handed the belt to me, my nose crinkled as it picked up on the scent of garlic, blood and several kinds of incense.

"Other than the usual basics you'd need against most types of Others, there's also a magazine filled with silver-tipped bullets for your gun. Could be useful."

"Thanks," I said as I checked the contents of the belt, "you're a lot more generous than I would have been."

"Government money, thanks to the PRT," Taylor said with a shrug. "But you're welcome anyway. Check the contents, memorise where they're placed and load up your gun. We're going on a patrol once I've showered and kitted up."

I glanced at the clock.

"We still got twenty five minutes till sundown."

"Best to catch them when they're just emerging from beyond the Veil," Taylor said as she turned for the stairs," one rule is never get into a fair fight with the Others. They don't play that way."

I watched Taylor disappear up the stairs before I turned to Danny, whose face was wearing that perpetual frown again when his kid is talking shop.

"Hey, Danny. I've heard Vulcan mention that the Marked exacts a price in return for their blessings."

I didn't need my powers to work on him to tell I've hit a sore spot, the way Danny scowled.

"What's Taylor's?"

I was afraid that Danny wasn't going to answer when he began turning into smoke again, but I got lucky because he did. But then again, maybe I wasn't so lucky because the answer is fucked up.

"That's easy," he said. "Me."

Like I said, fucked up.

/x/

We left the house at about fifteen minutes before six, just in time to see two Preacher trucks worth of PRT personnel arrive and park in front of the gate. As the troopers filed out of their trucks, Ta-Orpheus opened the gates and waved them in. Every single trooper walked past her and greeted her before they stepped into the yard and began setting up some kind of tent and other field equipment. Two of the troopers hauled a pole with a PRT shield on top and planted it in the middle of the yard. The shield began to glow, and the light illuminated the street, driving away the oncoming dusk. Other PRT troopers began to enter the other houses, but unlike my landlady's home no owner came out to give permission nor did they make an attempt to seek it.

Hmm, going by the condition of their yards and houses, I guess there's a reason this place was so quiet.

"Boy, you Returners sure are privileged, getting the whole street to yourself."

The cold glare Orpheus gave me almost made me regret running my mouth off. Almost.

My landlady was about to chew me out when a exorcist approached us, his red uniform and black beret making him stand out from the normal PRT troopers. Olive skin, kinda bulky with long hair I saw his exposed neck, cheeks and hands covered in dark red Greek letters tattoos. His gait reminded me of a dancer, but the way he held his hands to the side reminded me of a pit fighter. The skin around the letters squirmed occasionally, as my power started to analyse the effects they were having on him.

"Hmm, interesting," I said, " your tats appear to be a conduit for something. You're some kind of Brute?"

"Boy, Vulcan wasn't exaggerating when he said you're a mouthy one."

Tats reached out for a shake, revealing a mouth full of perfectly straight pearly whites. Guess the PRT dental plan's a killer here.

"Runic name's Chimera, Soothsayer. I'm an Acolyte of the Brockton Bay Paranormal Suppression team," he said as he gave me a firm shake. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine, Car-" A cold stare from Orpheus and I avoided using his first name, "Mr Valencia."

"Like Vulcan said, mouthy." Chimera then started ignoring me and began to speak to Orpheus in a low voice, while I busied myself with scoping out Chimera.

Hmm, no reagent belt like Orpheus and I do...so that's how...damn it.

I turned off my power, as I felt the flood of nonsense again. The more exotic effects of their powers leaves quite a large gap in between my analysis of them, which my power fills up with whatever it thinks is relevant. But allowing my power free flow was what got me into trouble with the redhead when I first ended up here, so fat chance I'm not keeping it on a tight leash.

Orpheus finished whatever she was speaking with Chimera about, before she waved goodbye and left the PRT free to do what they paid her to let them do. Hands in her pockets as she walked up to me, Orpheus looked more moody then she usually was before. My eyes caught the glint of light reflected off a silver dagger underneath her jacket, while Orpheus gestured for me to follow her as we walked towards the Docks.

"We'll start with something simple tonight," Orpheus said," a simple patrol around the outskirts of Hyakki Yagyo turf, then a detour into the Afterdark. Be sure to keep Pouch Three within easy access."

"Pouch three? The uncooked sticky rice?" I slipped my finger into the bag and felt the grains against my skin. I have my doubts, but best to listen to the expert here.

/x/

We arrived at the edge of the Docks, the rusted hulks of abandoned boats a reminder that some things are pretty similar here as it is on Earth Bet. I narrowed my eyes towards the Bay, focusing on the fog that rolled over the dark surface of the water. I felt Orpheus' hand tap my left shoulder and began to turn my head when I heard her shout.

"Stop!" Huh? Orpheus shouted at me from my right, but how did her hand...oh shit.

"Soothsayer," Orpheus said in a low growl, "turn and face me and make sure to do so with your entire body. Not just the head, the entire body."

I complied, as my body turned towards Orpheus, her fist acting as a beacon for me to turn towards her direction. I heaved a sigh of relief as I saw her scowling face and flashing red scarf, as she glanced at me and whatever was lurking behind me.

"Okay, my fault," Orpheus said, "I'd forgotten you're not familiar with basic Other safety. Never, ever respond to someone or turn to someone who taps you, calls you by the first name or otherwise hails you out of your line of sight when outside of a threshold."

"What if I have to?"

Orpheus glanced at me before her gaze returned to the thing behind me.

"At least turn completely like I just taught you. You want all your guiding lights with you."

Guiding lights? Great more bullshit to learn.

"So what happens if I do or don't do any of the things you mentioned?"

Orpheus slowly squeezed out a dull metal rod from her fist, as she used her height to look over me at the Other.

"If you're lucky, you get a slap strong enough to break your jaw," Orpheus said, "if you're unlucky, you end up spirited away."

To the point as always, Orphie. I shivered as I felt a chill spread over my back, before Orpheus threw the rod like a dart at the Other lurking behind my back. A piercing howl and the smell of smoke arose from my back before Orpheus shoved me aside and threw herself at the Other. I stumbled sideways before I collected myself, making sure to turn my entire body towards the brawl. A teenage blonde boy dressed in a sports team jacket, jeans and sneakers laid sprawled out on the floor, while Orpheus pressed down the rod into his forehead. She slapped aside his wild swings at her before she retrieved a pouch and poured metal shavings on him, and a loud wail burst forth accompanied by the sound of sizzling as the shavings burned him.

I pulled out my gun, undid the safety and pointed it Orpheus.

"Let my brother go right now, Orpheus!"

She ignored me as she pulled out the rod from Rex's forehead before she rammed it into his throat.

"I'm warning you, Taylor! Don't push it!"

Orpheus grabbed my brother's head and twisted, before she dragged the corpse by the grass coloured hair and shoved the limp, disfigured body towards me. I trained my gun on the Other, looking at the hands that reached to his knees, the claws on the hands the size of my face, the corpse-like complexion of the skin and the massive lips on his face.

"I'm guessing your brother's dead, Soothsayer, if you reaction to the Gancanagh is anything to go by," Orpheus said dryly as she wiped purple blood from her face and hands with a tissue that she lit up after she was done. "Oh, good work on yelling out my name like that. I was thinking of where I was going to find more of them."

I squeezed off a few silver rounds at a small, scaly creature with pointed ears that tried to jump on Orpheus from behind. The bullets found their mark, as it dropped onto the floor, screaming an unearthly scream before Orpheus went over to its squirming form and plunged the silver dagger into the chest. Her right arm which held onto the dagger was covered in a dark cloud, as her skin began to pale and her eyes turned black. Orpheus removed the dagger from the creature, and it started to melt into a grey sludge as she sheathed the blade before she started to look more human again.

"Toyols," Orpheus said with a sneer as she glared at the dissolving Other. "Guess I'll have to use you now, Charon."

Danny manifested behind his daughter, while he gave me a reproachful glare.

"Don't mention it, Orpheus. That's what we Guardian Spirits are for."

Howls, laughter and clapping in the distance, as Orpheus started to jog away from the oncoming commotion. I followed her after a moment's hesitation.

"Sorry."

Orpheus didn't bother turning back.

"Apology accepted."

/x/

We arrived at yet another set of apartment blocks while the flickering streetlights, the burning candles and plates of food offerings on the floor cast shifting shadows on the walls. Orpheus stopped near a crossroad as she looked around before she turned to me.

"Pouch five, the candy."

I handed over the sweets and she began tossing the candy around like confetti in all directions. Children emerged from the shadows, grabbing the sweets gleefully while Orpheus waved at them. She bent down at the kids that approached us, and I nearly lost my dinner as I saw the missing faces, open torsos and other signs of abuse.

"Alright children," Orpheus said, "tell me where the bad people are?"

Their hands-those with them- pointed in all directions except the west. Orpheus grimaced, then asked again.

"Alright children, where's the least number of bad people?"

More hands spread out, asking for more candy. Orpheus reached into her jacket and tossed out sticks of gum.

As one, the hands reached out and grabbed them, before they pointed at the northeast. Orpheus scowled as she reached for her dagger.

"Omote-Kimon," she said," I have to go in the worst possible direction. Seta, you ass."

I followed Orpheus as she began walking in the direction where she said was the worst direction, and made sure I was within her line of sight before I spoke.

"So why not the west, and what's with all the children?"

"This place was the abortion clinic for the smuggled sex workers back when the Asian gangs were still a thing," Orpheus said. "They weren't too big on the consent of the mother and the whole definition of what counts as a fetus and what doesn't."

Hmm, creepy.

"And the avoid going to the west thing?"

Orpheus waved a hand in my face, and I sneezed from the burst of incense she tossed in my face. As I rubbed my nose, I picked up the briny smell of the Bay's waters.

"We've walked into a trap, and we would have walked straight into the sea if not for this."

A pair of fiery eyes stared back at me as I looked into Orpheus' face, as she showed me a pentagon shaped mirror with a needle spinning on top of it.

"That toyol and the fae was a distraction so that the Hyakki could close the noose on us," Orpheus said bitterly, "but we're not done yet."

"Orpheus," Danny's voice appeared in my head, "the Hyakki are closing in. A few have tripped the alarm wards you had me set up."

"They must be close then," Orpheus said, "what kind of opposition?"

"Mostly jiangshi, with some shikome thrown in for good measure."

At least I've stopped freaking out hearing Danny's voice in my head, that's something.

Orpheus nodded at her spirits report, as she walked towards the northeast with her dagger in hand. I followed to her right, making sure she could see me.

"Orpheus, any idea who is waiting for us at the Omete whatchamacallit?"

"Something unpleasant."

Through the dim light, a red arch came into view. Torri gates, I think they call it. Surrounded by pennants, with a red devil's mask painted on them. A man with a face painted in bright red and black sat in front of the arch, his deep green brigandine armour polished to shine.

"Behind that red gate is the exit to the Hyakki threshold," Orpheus said, "Once I begin fighting, run pass the gates and call for help."

Once done speaking to me, Orpheus strode confidently towards the gate and the painted man. She took out several strips of paper with charms written on them in red ink as she closed in, before she charged towards the arch.

"Aero!"

I heard a roar of wind, as several emerald coloured blades formed above Orpheus and threw themselves at the painted man. He jumped backwards, allowing the folded chair to be shredded along with the paved road as the wind carved deep gouges inside the ground. The painted man gave Orpheus a cold stare, as spears began to rise from the ground.

"Yeah, that's right Gui," Orpheus said, "I used Taoshu and I didn't use Chinese. Me, a whitey woman used the sacred arts of your ancestors! Feeling mad, bro?"

Several clusters of spears burst forth from the ground where Orpheus stood and missed her by inches as she rolled to the side.

"You mad, bro," Orpheus said with a chuckle, "You so mad."

Orpheus removed another paper charm and a gout of flame erupted towards Gui, who shielded himself with a cluster of his spears. The ground continued to transform, as more spear clusters burst forth. Slowly, the ground was being transformed into a forest of wooden shaft, metal spearheads and red tassels. I started to run, making sure to watch out for any sudden pointy instruments spurting out of the ground like moles. A burst of wind, as green blades crushed several spears that shot out of a wall next to me. I fell forward from the impact of the exploding spears and rolled with the fall, making sure to land in a crouched position.

My heartbeat pumped in my ears, as I ran for the arch while several men in red and green appeared out of the darkness. I smelled the rotting flesh and their stiff, jerky movement, fanged mouths and the stench of rotted flash clued me in that those guys weren't normal. They weren't hideously deformed women, so I figured they must be the jiangshi that Orpheus warned me about. I grabbed the uncooked rice as I got close, dodged a swipe before I tossed a handful into its face.

Smoke rose from the jiangshi's eyes as the flesh began to bubble, and I almost threw up from the horrible stench. I left the undead to roast from exposure to rice as I reached the gate, before I felt the world spin as I was pushed to the ground from the side. I threw up a little from the stench, as strong arms and claws dug into my shoulders. I head-butted the jiangshi in my desperation and felt my head ring as I knocked against the stiff dome of the Other. I screamed as the claws dig into me, before the smell of incense overwhelmed the smell of death.

"Good effort for a first night, Soothsayer."

Orpheus sunk her silver dagger into the cheek of the Other and then slid the blade down to sever the jaw. Her blackened arm pushed the jiangshi off me and it was sent flying into a brick wall. I felt her hands help me to my feet, but before I could say anything, warm liquid splashed on my face.

Several spearheads burst out of her chest, followed by a tearing sound as a hand knocked Orpheus' head and twisted the neck to the side. I watched stunned as Orpheus' head hung limply, before her body slumped to the knees. Gui approached me as he shoved Orpheus' corpse aside and I turned and fled, only to see the red arch suddenly appear much further away than it was. I disregarded the creeping despair and kept charging towards the gate, before I felt my knees buckle as a shaft of wood struck them from behind. A black plastic vial from my belt dislodged and rolled to my side, as heavy boots pressed down on my head as I was pushed into the ground.

I screamed as I was pulled up by my hair and Gui's painted face appeared before me, his unseeing eyes a muddy yellow. I spat in his face and was rewarded with a face full of pavement as he slammed me down to the ground. Disoriented and in great pain, I thought I was hallucinating when I heard a gust of wind. The grip on my hair disappeared when I heard metal tear through flesh and bone and a pair of cold hands that smelled of smoke gently set me against a streetlight. Danny's gaunt face was a sight for sore eyes as Orpheus faced down Gui, holding half of his right arm. My gaze travelled southwards down Danny's body before I noticed the long black trail that linked Orpheus' shadow with her spirit.

"It's over, Gui," Orpheus said as she held up the severed arm and a kanji character written in purple appeared on the palm. "When you hit me with that hand of yours, I knew that's where your Mark is."

Another rain of spears emerged from the ground, but they were quickly engulfed by a tide of shadows. Gui attempted to flee, only for Orpheus to use another paper charm, which caused the road to split open and form a mound to trap the cultist by his feet.

"Like I said, it's over."

Orpheus turned away from Gui as the ground began to form a cocoon around him, leaving his squirming face exposed. Orpheus' frowned as she examined my wounds, before she took out a shiny needle and poked the claw marks on my shoulder.

"Feeling any pain?"

"Nope," I said in a panicky voice. "This is bad news, isn't it."

"Luckily, it's treatable," Orpheus said with a smile, "and we are going somewhere with the right people to do so."

"Kay. So, "I glared at her as I spoke, "how the hell did you survive getting your neck snapped and your torso kebabed?"

Orpheus smiled as she showed me the black vial that I dropped when Gui pinned me down, before she upended it and a line of grey sludge dropped out of the vial. She cocked her head at where her body was, and my eyes widened as the corpse dissolved into the same liquid that was in the vial.

"How," I snarled as I shot Orpheus a dirty look. "How the fuck did you do that?"

Orpheus' smirked. It made me want to punch her despite her saving my life.

"Magic. Don't have to explain shit, don't wanna explain shit."

I glared at her.

"You know I'd find out the secret, sooner rather than later right?"

"If you're that curious, Soothsayer, "Orpheus said as her smile faded, "I can teach you. Just don't regret it. "

Over in the distance, I heard the blare of sirens and hymns from the Preacher trucks.

"Late again," Orpheus said as we left for the Afterdark.

/x/

I followed Orpheus, all the while idly tugging at the bandages applied to the shoulders. She put on the PRT exorcists' black beret as we approached and then stopped in front of a motel with a faded sign. Parked outside was a Preacher truck, complete with a squad of PRT troopers.

"This is it, "Orpheus said as adjusted her headdress, "the Faded Hotel. Three blocks south, four blocks north of the Boardwalk."

"Orpheus!"

We turned to the person shouting at us, a young blonde girl probably just past twelve. She wore a green nun's habit like Sister Hannah, but it was heavily modified without any flowing bits of cloth that could be grabbed in a fight and an exorcist's beret instead of the coif that the older nun wore. The air around the nun shimmered, before she reappeared before us with a bright smile and waved at me before hugging Orpheus.

"Sister Missy," Orpheus said, "good to see you."

"Same here, Orpheus," Missy said in a squeaky voice. "Oh hello, Soothsayer."

"Hi," I said. "Don't mind me, just bleeding badly from being attacked by Asian vampires. Nothing to worry about."

"Looks bad," Missy said as she looked at my bandaged wounds, and flicked her wrist before a thermometer appeared in her hand. She took my temperature with a simple probe into my ear, then frowned as she read the results.

"Orpheus, you bringing her to Epione's clinic in the Afterdark?"

"Yes," Orpheus said, "Jiangshi attack. Did the pain test, she didn't respond."

Missy winced at Orpheus' words, before she looked me over again.

"Yeah, my Khoramancy and meagre Taoshu can't help her then. Best to get this over with," Missy said. "Both of you please step in front of the mirror."

I followed her directions and stood next to Orpheus in front of a bronze mirror that hung over the doors of the four storey high motel, my haggard appearance reflected by it giving me a fright.

"The Others loathe mirrors in general, since it reminds them of the alien appearance they take when manifesting on our side of the Veil," Orpheus said as the badge on her beret shone as it reflected on the mirror. "Bronze mirrors, ritually crafted by alchemists with iron and hung on a threshold are especially anathema to most Others."

"So why doesn't everyone carry one?"

"Two reasons," Orpheus said, "first one is that it doesn't repel the Others as effectively when not connected to a threshold. The second is well, unlike buildings people wearing the mirrors attract human robbers and thieves."

"Thieves?"

"Yes," Orpheus said with a nod. "Mirrors built like this are very expensive."

A glimmer of light shone on the mirror, before the doors of the Nameless Hotel creaked open. I stared into the cavernous darkness, the opening reminding me of the mouth of a cavernous beast before I followed Orpheus through the doors.

"Have fun," Missy shouted as we passed through. I followed Orpheus, thankful that the badge she wore shone like a flashlight in the darkness as we walked ahead. No other light than the one on her badge, no other sound than our breathing and the footsteps we made as we walked on. I held onto Orpheus' hands, and knocked into her back when she came to a sudden halt.

"We're here," Orpheus said, her face barely visible due to the light from the badge, "try not to stumble after you enter the Afterdark due to your eyes adjusting to the sudden light."

"Sudden what-"

Rows of fireballs lit up next to us, while I heard the sound of heavy wooden doors groaned as they opened. Bursts of colour danced in my vision and the sudden flood of light nearly overwhelmed me, while the sound of chattering in myriad languages, accents and music caused my head to hurt from the sudden sensory overload after the darkness and silence I just experienced. I smelled the aroma of frying dough mixed with the heady scent of roasting coffee, while someone who smelled of perfume and ginseng walked past me.

"Take it easy, Sarah," Orpheus said cheerfully, "slowly allow yourself to reorient to the sights and sounds."

Orpheus sounding cheerful? Something's not right here. I cracked my eyes open gently, and saw Orpheus crouching down next to me as I sat down on a cobblestone path. My vision was still blurred, but I could see the sky an unnatural shade of lavender and ruby. The streets were lined with houses, made of wood, stone, rammed earth and even some modern looking buildings made of glass and steel. Colourful banners, written in languages both familiar and alien to me loudly proclaimed the names of their owners and their services. A flight of eyeballs with grey batwings floated lazily above me, but Orpheus didn't tense up at the presence of the Others. Most of the vendors, sporting horns, furs, two heads, and wearing clothes both ancient and modern loudly shouted out their presence over the din and buzz of the marketplace. Humans walked among the crowd, several wearing the exorcist beret but many sporting attire that signalled an allegiance to other groups. Despite the hostility on display between Marked, human and Other outside, here Other and human mingled in peace.

My eyes gradually adjusted to the sights as the vertigo wore off and I got to my feet. Orpheus brushed off the dust from my jeans, before she led me by the hand through the crowds of Others and humans. She walked with a spring in her steps, while Danny appeared next to us, his appearance seemed downright mundane in this mess of the supernatural and normal.

"Welcome to the Afterdark, Sarah," Orpheus said with a bright smile that I've not seen since forever. "The place which speaks of a better future and a concession hard-worn from the Other side of the Veil by the Archmagus and the rest of the Sentinel Circle."

"Sentinel Circle? What's that?" I asked while Danny haggled with a woman who had a snake's lower body. "And why are you using my first name?"

"It's safe here, Sarah," she said with a small laugh, "and the Circle's the order of exorcists working with the PRT."

Hmm, so like the Protectorate and the PRT works together on our world. Makes sense, I guess.

I followed Orph- right, friendly threshold. Let's try this again.

I followed Taylor as she led me past the throngs on the streets, while she eagerly pointed out some of her favourite places.

"Madam Yasha's tea and dim sum are to die for, "Taylor gushed as she pointed out a pavilion with a wooden sign written in Chinese. "Just remember to avoid the honey pork buns. It's not really pork."

We turned right at the road junction, where a man with legs the length of a tree was lazily waving the crowds along. After another right turn, we arrived in front of a shop with a simple, polished wooden door and a sign written in Greek letters nailed to the door. Taylor knocked on the door twice, before she slowly pushed it open. I heard the jingle of bells as the door creaked open and we walked in, before a mousy teenage girl around our age with short, curly brown hair looked up from her desk at us. Her green eyes narrowed as they passed me by and focused on Taylor, as she got off her seat.

"Hi Epione," Taylor said with less cheer than she had when we first entered the Afterdark. "I brought you a patient. Her name's Soothsayer."

"Taylor Hebert," Epione said as she clicked her tongue in disapproval, "the one with the inauspicious name,"

Without further pleasantries, Epione sat me down on a leather cushioned bed and expertly removed my bandages. She frowned as she saw the wounds inflicted by the Others and held her right palm over my shoulder. I hissed as I felt a stinging sensation as black smoke flowed out of the wound and disappeared as it touched her hand. Epione's frown grew deeper as she took out a needle and plunged it into the wound without further delay.

"Feel anything?"

"Other than the pain when you sucked the smoke out of me?" I said. "Nothing else."

Epione scowled, before she turned on Taylor and marched to her. The healer pulled up Taylor's shirt, and glared at the large bruise on her abs.

"I was wondering how your friend isn't already a corpse considering she was wounded by a jiangshi in Gui's threshold."

Taylor smirked as she handed over Gui's severed hand, wrapped in a blood stained yellow cloth marked with runes.

"Gui's mark last manifested on this hand," Taylor said. "Although it will appear somewhere else on his body in time, having his magic severely curtailed for now will do everyone a world of good."

"Indeed it will, "Epione said as she placed the hand into a glass jar and sealed it with duct tape. The healer then placed the jar into a safe with a large rune carved on it, looking over the seal before she turned back to Taylor.

"Still doesn't excuse the fact you placed a scapegoat charm on Soothsayer and placed yourself at risk," Epione snapped. "Worst, you placed it on yourself as well. Most acolytes have better sense than to risk two backfiring charms at once!."

Epione took my hand as she examined the wounds again, before she went to her desk and began to scribble furiously on her notepad. She ripped out the page, gestured for Taylor and myself to follow as she walked to the interior of the clinic.

"So, "I said in a hesitant voice, "what kind of treatment are you diagnosing?"

"A two hour long bath in holy water and a herbal mix," Epione said before she pointed at Taylor, "with the idiot who needs the treatment more than you do."

/x/

A/N:Took me longer than usual, but here you go.


	6. Cantrip 1.6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Gigul Network and the Whispered Speech.

Cantrip 1.6

Soothsayer  
/x/

I shuddered from the pain and chill as Taylor poured the bucket off water over me to wash away that gunk that was applied on my wounds. It smelled-and felt-of crushed rice, mint, thyme, ginger and smoke. The water swept the paste away, but my teeth chattered as the cold touch of the water made me sneeze. Taylor smiled as she took out a brush, dipped it into a wooden bucket that smelled of wine and flowers before she started to scrub my back and shoulder. The rough touch of the bristles made me squirm as Taylor's hands systematically worked their way from the top to the bottom of my back and shoulders before she lifted me off the stool I sat on.

"Put me down!" I half shrieked. It wasn't the most dignified of responses, but being manhandled by a teenage girl my age whilst naked isn't the most dignified situation anyway. She sat me down to face her, a cheeky smile plastered on her face. I've only met her for less than two days, three if we make it to morning, but seeing her so relaxed in this literal house of horrors where those Others roam around kinda unsettled me. She squeezed some shower cream onto the brush and began scrubbing me down, this time from the front and far more gently. The bristles tickled and I giggled even as I moved to brush her hands away.

"Hold still," Taylor said lightly. An easy, bright smile hung onto her face even as she told me off while her posture lacked the twitchy gait I associated so closely with her. I let the walls come down, and my power started to feed me what I wanted to know.

Relaxed, sunny disposition. Secure and confident in the protection provided by this sanctuary. Threshold is unbreakable due to the vows made by %#^&%#%$# # #.

I switched off the power and began trying to retrace the part about the vows again.

Threshold is unbreakable due to the vows %$^&*$######!#$%$.

I hastily erected the walls to cut off the flow, and felt strong hands gently rub my back before I realised I was on all fours and a sour smell alerted me to the puddle of vomit on the polished wooden floor. Taylor looked at me, her expression softer and more concerned than I had expected possible from the hard-boiled exorcist. She cooed as she guided me down the steps of the wooden communal bath that looked more like a small pool before she sprayed the vomit down a drain with a hose of water. I soaked in the inviting steam of the bath while I stared at the ceiling, the moving lights moved in bursts of speed and flowing colours which entranced and soothed the heaving feeling in my stomach and the migraine I felt. I shifted slightly to the left as I felt the water ripple and Taylor's lanky yet toned form brushed against me, while I closed my eyes and sighed in contentment when the tension of being in an alien world melted away.

"What happened?"

I kept my eyes closed, the steamy water I scooped and splashed on my face kept me in a state of restful bliss.

"Power. I used it to find out why you're so chill here in the Afterdark despite the presence of the Others. Heck, you're even less wound up here than you are at home."

"Ah, that." I didn't have to open my eyes to imagine her nod of understanding. "You tried to use your power to find out how the Afterdark was formed."

I opened my eyes just a bit when I heard her humming, her glare unsettled me when she caught me peeking at her.

"Sarah," Taylor said gravely as her usual tenseness returned. "What happened when you tried to read the secrets of the Afterdark? I know your powers do not work on the Others, but yet you're able to read me, a Returner."

"Well, you won't be able to say that for much longer," I smirked for her benefit as I spoke. " Unlike just a few hours before, this time when I tried to get around your occultic nonsense, I got something which I could make out clearly!"

Taylor's face stiffened as she heard my words. Her fists clenched as she whispered under her breath, and there was a whistling sound followed by a dull thud as her dagger stuck itself blade first into the tub.

"You heard something? Can you tell me what it was?"

I briefly considered lying, but I had learned the hard way that not being mostly truthful to the experts in this world can be deadly.

"Sure, when I got to the parts about the vows made, I'm flooded with %^#&**###!"

Taylor's eyes widened in shock, as she clamped my mouth shut and pressed me down to the side of the tub.

"Charon," Taylor said as she called out to her father's Spirit name I heard her use when fighting Gui, "Appear! Now!"

Danny appeared in a puff of black smoke, looking more surreal and inhuman than before. Instead of a figure mostly human but coloured differently, there was a sense of wrongness in the human form Danny took. His silhouette when contrasted against the wooden walls and floors felt like a stain that screamed out to me for removal, his eyes piercing and unsettling. My breathing quickened as I felt a visceral rejection of this thing that stood beside me, and I struggled against Taylor's grip to scamper away from it.

From theOther.

Taylor bit down on her right hand's index finger while she pinned me with the other easily, before she pressed her bloodied digit against my forehead and began writing. She murmured in a low voice, in a language which I didn't understand. All I felt was the overwhelming urge to flee from the wrongness of Charon's presence. Taylor ceased her doodling on my forehead, before she cupped her hand on my forehead and spoke into her hand.

"Calm."

A wave of relief washed over me, as the compulsion to flee from Danny faded away. I glared at Taylor for essentially Mastering me, but she merely scooped a pail of water from the bath and washed away the blood on my forehead.

"Sarah," she said,"what you just spoke was the Whispered Speech." I shivered involuntarily as Taylor mentioned the phrase, while I resisted the urge to use my power to find out what it meant. I figured she was going to tell me in any case.

"The Whispered Speech is the native tongue of the Others, and used by the Marked who seeks to deal with them in their true forms." Danny again disappeared into the dagger, while Taylor laid against the side of the tub. "Spoken here in the Afterdark, without any kind of protection? It's practically an invitation to be spirited away."

"It invalidates the protections set up by the vows on the visitors to the Afterdark," I said softly as my power pieced things together, "had some Other overheard what I said-"

"I would need to takedrastic measures," Taylor finished for me as she got up from the tub. I shrugged and followed her towards the changing room, and Taylor tossed me a towel and bathrobe as I entered after her.

"Your power's pretty impressive actually, Sarah," Taylor said as she dried her hair. "It's growing and adapting to the information you provide to it."

"So the reason why my power wasn't working till now against the Others but did somewhat on you and the other exorcists..."

"Was because it's trying to decipher the Whispered Speech for you when it analysed the Others," Taylor said. "Most non-Returner Acolytes take years of training to even become aware of Whispered Speech, but your power took only two days to know it's there and tried to decipher it."

Water smelling of herbs and wine dripped down my blonde hair as I studied the wounds on my shoulder, now looking a lot cleaner, in the mirror.

"Lucky me,"I said while I rolled my eyes. "So was there a reason I stumbled upon the native tongue of the Others while studying the Afterdark through you?"

Taylor stopped brushing her hair and gave me a hard stare, before I put the pieces together using my power very carefully.

"That's what a Returner means, isn't it?" I spoke with a tinge of apprehension," Returners were exposed to the Other side of the Veil so much they're barely human anymore."

Taylor sighed before her expression softened and she returned to brushing her hair.

"Sarah, most Returners end up as cultists like Gui. It is so easy to revel in your inhumanity and yet being able to stay on this side of the Veil because," Taylor pointed to the faded bruise still visible on her chest, "you still have a human body and soul."

"All the power," I said with a smirk even as I suppressed my revulsion at remembering the Others, "none of the restrictions."

"Almost," Taylor said softly while she gave a wistful look to her dagger. "Threading the line between Marked and Other is difficult, because of how thin the line is."

I turned away from the mirror, glad that the wound inflicted by the jiangshi had faded to a relatively healthy beige rather than the rotting darkness it was. I need more information about this world, and the material I've read in the Citadel wasn't enough by a long shot.

"Hey Taylor," I asked as she was changing into her clothes, "what's a good place on the internet to find out more on the Others and the Veil?"

Taylor paused in her dressing, as she fixed me with a confused look.

"What's an Internet?"

/x/

On hindsight, I should have wandered more why there was no internet icon on the smartphone I've liberated when I first arrived on this crazy world. But as Taylor had informed me, a world where being hypnotized by a pre-recorded video, a voice recording or even someone speaking on the other side with magic is a world where all kinds of communication are screened to hell and back. The plaques and charms that hung over the Hebert homes TV, how the phones in the house were marked thoroughly speaks of a world where words have literal powers that can fuck you up.

And those Others who can travel via unsecured mirrors and screens? I will never look at them the same way ever again.

And I thought Masters on Bet were scary. None of them except maybe the Simurgh can mindfuck you using a phonecall or video chat.

As far as I know anyway, but that's a distant problem right now.

"So, you guys do not have the internet?"

"Nope," Taylor said as we settled down on a couch in Epione's guest room, "tell me how it works."

I saw Taylor's face glaze over in disbelief when I gave a very general outline of the internet. Of things like social media, easily accessible video streaming, and how for most of the internet, you do not require equipment that's been tested, retested and then destroyed with a blessed sledgehammer if there's so much as a hint of the thing being compromised.

"Sounds wonderful to me," Taylor said, "a world outside the Afterdark where you can communicate freely with other people and not worried you'd end up a meal of a monster."

"Yeah, we still have monsters who use those tools to hunt," I said carefully, "they're mundane usually, but it's not that good."

Taylor got a wistful look in her eyes as she stared at the ceiling, before she went to the coat hangar and removed her phone. She pressed her index finger over the screen for two seconds, before the screensaver switched to a grey removed a vial of ash, the smell of mud nearly caused me to choke as she smeared a line with it over my left cheek and her own. I ignored my discomfort and allowed my power to analyse the symbol while I heard the Whispered Speech in my head.

" An interconnected series of networks that operates by...establishing a neural link between users and the central server?"

"Brilliant deduction, Sarah even though I'm not sure what's a server," Taylor said approvingly as she pressed down on the spiral with her thumb. "Now, try not to lose your lunch."

"Lose my-"

A riot of colours burst into my vision as I heard a thousand voices flood into my ears before a brilliant red drowned out all my senses. I stumbled blindly while I grasped as straws before Taylor's hands reasserted their grip on mine.

"Welcome to the Gigul Network," Taylor said while my vision started to normalise. An inky darkness that stretched on forever, broken by floors, walls and pillars made of glowing neon bricks and massive white pillars. I looked down at myself and found myself fully clothed in ratty jeans, sweater with hoodie and old sneakers, aka the same clothes I wore when I first arrived from Bet. Taylor herself was now fully back into her Orpheus persona, dressed in her usual mob club valet outfit complete with stone-faced expression.

"Huh, neat," I said flatly as I moved my body while I tried to ignore the fact I was standing on some kind of invisible floor. "Full immersion virtual reality. I can think of several Tinkers who'd undergo their trigger moments to have access to this."

"More techno-babble I don't understand," Orpheus said as she pushed away several glowing red screens that floated in front of her. I watched as they zipped into the darkness before the screens broke into shards that melted away. Orpheus waved her finger around again, much like how I'd operate a touch screen back home and more screens large and small formed out of thin air. She flipped through several of those screens with a look of frustration, her fingers swept away the ones she didn't like before she finally settled on the tablet she was looking for.

"Here you go," Orpheus said as she flicked the screen towards me. My hand shot out to intercept out of instinct, and the plain red surface of the screen melted away to reveal a report about me complete with the mugshot I took when I first arrived at the Citadel. The information about me complied in the report was very thorough, complete with their analysis of what they think my power is.

"Prophecy?!" My eyes bugged out as I read their assumptions on my power. "They think I'm some old bearded guy proclaiming the end is nigh?"

"Most prophecy and fortune telling is ninety percent guess work based on what the caster's link to the Veil Colors tell her anyway," Orpheus said with a shrug. "Marked fortune-telles get a better hit rate comparatively, due to their ability to connect closer to the Colors but it's not fool-proof just like yours."

"So what's the other ten percent?"

Before Orpheus could speak, a cloud form of greyish white pixels floated towards us and formed into a black woman in a cowl over a suit. My eyes were drawn to the exorcist beret she wore, the badge shone like a beacon in the dim light of the glowing walls.

"Hess," Taylor acknowledged with a small nod. "How rare of you to want to chat on the Gigul."

"Schwarz please," the exorcist said glumly. The dim light and her badges glow makes it hard to tell, but it seems like that bearded exorcist Vulcan had chewed her out for use of runic names.

"Tongue lashing from Vulcan, I presume" Her grimace along with the deadpan tone I've adopted for the rhetorical question confirmed my suspicions. Hey, maybe my power is getting more used to this whacked world like Orpheus said! Schwarz ignored the glee that showed on my face as she turned towards Orpheus and flicked open a screen. I walked next to both exorcists and stretched my neck above so that I could get a look at what Orpheus was reading, but I only saw a plain, red glowing surface.

"Don't bother, Soothsayer," Orpehus said while she kept her gaze focused on the screen. "Reading a message from one user to another is impossible unless you've hacked the soul of either side."

Wait? Soul hack?! Sounds a lot worse than normal hacking. I was tempted to use my power, but considering the amount of Whispered Speech I've heard just entering Gilgul, I ran the risk of really getting a nasty Thinker's headache if I let down the walls here.

"How did you know to use the term hacking like that anyway, Orpehus?"

"Just because we have no internet," Orpheus said while her face got gradually grimmer reading the message, "does not mean we have no computers, Soothsayer."

Orpheus finally finished the message from her counterpart as her face set into a scowl while she flicked away the screen. Schwarz's expression matched Orpheus' own as they spoke in hushed tones.

"Hey," I said. " Lemme in on the gossip! You girls talking about that hottie Chimera we saw tearing up Orpheus' yard?"

"No, Hess here," Schwarz's scowl grew deeper as Orpheus used her last name," was kind enough to give me a heads-up. Seta, leader of the Hyakki Yagyo had put up a hit on me for taking down Gui. Bastard even went through the trouble to produce a video of what he'd like to do to me with the unwilling help of one of his sacrificial virgins."

"That's not a good thing, isn't it?" I asked rhetorically while trying to suppress the urge to visualise what this Seta produced. Orpheus snorted at my poor attempt at levity before she reached for her cheek and felt the line of muddy ash she had smeared on us before we entered the Gilgul.

"Our anchor's fading," Orpheus said before she grabbed my hand. Her right hand pressed against my eyes as I heard her speak.

"We're going home."

Then my world burst into colour again.

/x/  
A/N Sorry for the wait.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuns with space-bending powers scare Soothsayer, and they both go to school.

Cantrip 1.7

Soothsayer  
/x/

Leaving the Gigul was almost just as unsettling as entering it. As the light show faded from my vision, I felt weighted down by the sheer presence of my body like it was some heavy burden to bear instead of what you're literally born with. Taylor's hands held onto me as she gently guided me to sit on the floor in a crossed leg position. A wave of nausea caused me to dry heave, while Taylor's hands held me steady in my seated position and prevented me from tipping over.

"Easy, Sarah, easy."

Taylor spoke in a soft tone, the earlier edge she displayed in the Gigul gone. Her hands rubbed my stomach and back while I jerked forward, before I felt a warmth wash over me. The tension I felt melted away and my heartbeat slowed as I settled down thanks to Taylor's ministrations. My breathing returned to normal while I wiped away the sheen of sweat that covered my face. it took me a while, but I was able to finally speak without the nerves slurring my words or me gasping for air.

"So, you did some more voodoo shit to calm me down when I was freaking out earlier, weren't you?"

"No," Taylor said with a hint of surprise. "I'm not versed in Voodoo or their variant disciplines. Though if you wish, I know Acolytes in the PRT who are."

Note to self. Magic is real here so be very careful when making quips about it to avoid making an ass of yourself. I fought to dispel any hint of awkwardness in my smile as I stood up, the smell of muddy ash still lingered on my nose. Taylor's face was now pristine, clear of the gunk she had applied before we went mind diving into a magical internet. I checked out the mirror in the changing room, and noticed a barely visible grey streak on my cheek. I measured my pulse to check it was beating steadily, before I let my powers work.

Ash mud solution acts as agent anchoring users of Gil#$ # Network to the $#% realm. S#uls get lost in the En##ess Circle if not anchored down. Body of user is non-corporeal when exploring the Gi#$%$, the Gilg # Network is made #$ %# #!

I pushed the walls up to cut the flow, as I leaned against the dresser below the mirror. Fortunately, my migraine isn't that bad this time round, and my power has started to be able to piece things together directly related to this magic of this world. I noticed Taylor looking at me out of the corner of my eye, thankfully she didn't judge me frail enough that she had to help me up again. I directed as vigorous a grin I was able to muster, which caused her posture to relax as she reverted to straightening her shirt and jacket. I quickly changed out of the bathrobe into my clothes of a sweater, t-shirt and jeans and was pleasantly surprised to find them washed, dried and scented with lemon.

"How hospitable," I remarked to myself as I finished dressing. Taylor gave a small laugh but didn't say more as we walked past the wooden doors painted a bright shade of red into the corridors of Epione's clinic. That the corridor itself was far larger than it had any right to be, considering the shopfront we entered from was mind boggling. No doubt, some kind of space warping...what do they call it again...ah yes! Khoramancy. Polished, dark wooden floors stretched as far as my eyes can see to the door when we entered this place after Epione was done diagnosing us. The walls surrounding the path were far apart, when my hands reached out to touch them they rushed towards me and I felt their smooth surface. Pillars, thick as a Roman column carved out of jet black stone lined up along the corridor, each exactly seven and half feet apart. Yet despite the sense of scale and distance, we crossed the seemingly endless distance between the bath and the main office of the clinic in only a few steps.

When we reached the entrance to the clinic proper, a woman in a white and silver striped nun's habit entered from the other side with a rosary in one hand and a crystal ball in the other. The rising flame design on her chest. sewn with platinum threads unsettled me as strings of Whispered Speech intruded my mind as I stared at it before I wisely averted my eyes. Something about this woman unsettled me, her red hair, slight case of freckles on her cheeks and the easy smile she had only increased my unease although there was nothing in her body language that warranted my nervousness.

"Taylor!" The nun said cheerfully while Taylor gave an awkward smile in return. Her green eyes twinkled as the nun sized me up with a mother's judging eye, before her smile grew wider which washed away my jangled nerves until my hard-worn paranoia from living on the streets reasserted itself.

"You must be Sarah, Taylor's new guest."

"Hi." I waved in return while keeping my posture straight and chest sticking out to avoid showing weakness. Something in her triggered my fight or flight instinct, despite her not showing any hostility. Some kind of magical Marked bullshit again or where have I...

Oh yeah, the redhead Other that tried to eat me before Schwarz saved me. That Emma person must have been a real charmer before she got munched on by the ghouls, going by the family resemblance. I tested my theory as I allowed my power to run free as I observed Taylor and the nun- okay, scratch that. Taylor's demeanour here towards Emma's sister shows she owes that Emma a hell of a debt. And Chr...okay. Better not take the Lord's name in vain considering I've got some magical clergy in front of me.

Fuck! Too many taboos, too many pitfalls, not enough info on their po-magic!- to come to a proper conclusion.

"Sister Anne," Taylor said in a nervous voice which I hadn't expected from her, going by how hardened she usually is. Yeah, serious guilt issues Ms Exorcist here has with that family. "Here to maintain the Khora wards on the clinic's corridor again?"

"Taylor," Well, damn. Anne's sad smile is heartbreaking. I'm seriously considering if she's some kind of Master here. "you know why I've called you. Are you coming? For Emma's-"

"Sending, I know." Taylor's left hand developed a slight twitch as she looked away from Anne. The way Taylor fretted under the nun's gaze was unsettling, so I decided to pull my weight as I stepped in to-hopefully-defuse the bomb.

"Sister Anne?" Wow, the way her eyes turned their gaze on me with just a slight hint of reproach had me feeling like I was six again being scolded by my parents. Fortunately for me, I kinda have a very complicated bone to pick with my family.

"Orpheus here has some pressing issues she must address," I said as Taylor's relief became evident on her face. "I'm sure she will come to a decision regarding Emma's final rites on her soon before the end of next week when the sending is due."

"Of course, how forgetful of me to not notice you were here, Sarah," Sister Anne spoke with just a bit of acid dripping of her tongue. I played up my grin, knowing full well it irritated the hell out of her.

"Indeed, Sister Anne. Soothsayer here," Taylor said, "is correct that I do have pressing things to deal with." A flash of irritation, before it vanished from her eyes as that same matronly smile appeared on her face again. Yet, she's barely three years older than us. Curious and curiouser...oh. Damn. I can see why Taylor feels this way about the Barnes now. Anne Barnes, I can see now why you've got that kind of mother's stare. Sorry it doesn't work very well on me.

"I really hope to see you there at Emma's sending, Taylor," Sister Anne said as the crucifix shot into the sky above and she patted Taylor's shoulder with her now free hand. I watched as she turned around, her crystal ball levitated and formed into a glowing, watery globe. Cross and globe swirled around the nun as she strode gently down the corridor , the walls and pillars twisted and reformed when a swirling whirlpool formed as her Relics approached them. I remembered the times when my parents splurged on authentic Italian food as I smelled the olive oil that flowed out of the globe and burnt as it reached the cross. The whirlpool will then cease, and the ritual will be repeated again as Sister Anne continued her gentle stroll down that twisted space.

"C'mon," Taylor said while she crossed the door into the clinic proper. "Time to go home."

/x/

We left the bustle and colour of the Afterdark the same way we went, and I was a tad surprised to notice the crowd that accompanied us as we cleared the entrance of the Nameless Hotel to reach downtown Brockton Bay again. We arrived just in time to see the rays of the sun peaking out of the horizon, casting the sky a cheery orange while the PRT troopers and Sister Missy stretched and fanned herself after she removed her habit. The young nun spotted us and a smile appeared on her tired face when she skipped forward to greet us.

"Orpheus! Soothsayer, you guys brought anything for me?" I couldn't help but crack a smile at her cutesy antics, even as I spotted the antsy spirit that screamed danger that was buried deep beneath Missy's facade. Danny appeared, looking far less solid and more like a fading vision than he usually was while he handed a package the size of a lunch tray wrapped in parchment to Missy. The younger girl squeaked in delight, before she clamped on her mouth and silently grabbed the package.

"Thanks," she muttered before she tore open the package eagerly. Another squeal of delight, as the polished silverware board shone in the morning sun. Sister Missy took a sniff of the silver board, before she bent over in a coughing fit which caused her body to convulse. I watched as Taylor watched with a small smile at the nun's antics, unsure of her detached reaction before Missy recovered and stared at the board with barely concealed greed in her eyes.

"Silver-forged Oujia boards tempered in moonlight! And the smell of Lamia's venom as coating! Oh Charon," Missy's eyes watered as she looked at Danny with gratitude, "you shouldn't have."

"You're welcome." Well, Danny's voice at least is still strong and audible at least. Taylor waved goodbye at the gathered PRT before she started walking towards our home and I trailed behind her. Around us, more people started streaming out of the entrance of the Nameless Hotel, several of them gathered in groups, comparing their spoils like the triumphant crowds after Black Friday. Looking at this scene, it almost seemed like I was back on a relatively normal world like Bet, where we didn't have things that went bump in the dark wanting to eat you.

We just have shit like the Endbringers, slowly driving us to extinction and freaks like the Slaughterhouse Nine. And don't forget the cape gangs making life miserable!

"Daytime's when the Others are mostly resting on the other side of the Veil," Taylor said as we boarded a bus. The driver pointedly looked straight ahead as he saw the exorcist outfit she was wearing, while most other passengers gave her a wide berth as she walked to the middle of the bus. How polite this people are! We settled into a seat near the exit, where Taylor took out her phone and tapped the Gilgul icon. The screen turned bright red, the light reflected off Taylor's pale skin as she flipped the screen from one empty screen to another. A trickle of Whispered entered my mind as I watched her phone, before Taylor elbowed me in the arm.

"Don't wanna clean up your puke again, Sarah." I smirked at the chastisement even as I rubbed my arm. Taylor's fingers rapidly cleared one screen after another, before she sighed and put it back into her coat.

"We've got school in three hours time, so get some rest here and later at home. You're free to skip if you want, but I suggest you do attend so that at least you can get some formal introduction to the more mundane side of our world."

"I'll pass," I said quickly. "My power makes the experience of spending time in a place like high school...queasy."

Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"I seriously suggest you reconsider your decision."

/x/

In the end, the choice of spending time in an empty house in a world full of ghosts and goblins or facing down the gauntlet of high school drama had me chose the gauntlet. There was Chimera, aka Carlos Valencia and the rest of the PRT troopers who had turned the Hebert property into a field command centre for the upcoming sweep of the Hyakki Yagyo. But despite how friendly they were, Chimera had handed me the three sets of uniforms from the high school Taylor was attending. The tattoos Chimera wore proudly, rather than keep hidden like Taylor did hers, also triggered a deluge of Whispered Speech every time I looked at them too closely. He'll have to wait until I learn more than the fact he is indeed a conduit for powers greater than his own.

I pulled at the white collar of my blouse with the puffy sleeves and dusted the sides of my camo green blazer with the pleated skirt to calm myself as our bus ride approached the school. The school crest was proudly emblazoned on the left side of my blazer, a shield with two red bars forming an x over a white bar resting on a bed of laurels with two knights faced away from the shield with their swords drawn. The Latin motto beneath the crest was gibberish, which translates-roughly- to one who guards the outhouse. Taylor's impression of the school when I asked her on the journey here didn't leave me filled with confidence in the school, so I hope that it was sheer teenage prejudice against any kind of formal education that has me deeply worried the pseudo-Latin was indeed an accurate translation.

Well, accuracy regarding the general state of the school, rather than any kind of actual spelling, grammatical or linguistically accuracy in terms of the Latin employed. That motto was still garbage.

The bus shuddered as it came to a halt outside our destination. Contrary to my expectations, the school building itself wasn't too bad. The paint was fresh, the windows are unbroken and the fencing around the school compound was unbroken with the barbed wire covered in a pleasant layer of lush, green ivy. Taylor looked a lot younger when she's dressed in her uniform, rather than how mature and adult she felt when she was in her usual suit and pants combo. Despite being in uniform, it wasn't difficult for me to breakdown the student body into their cliques, and they weren't shy about declaring which group they belonged to. Folded collars to resemble an Oni's horns, Asian kanji for the Hundred Ghosts in removable tattoos on the neck or other visible body parts and an Asian ethnicity for the boys. The girls wore lipstick and eye-shadow of conflicting shades of black and white, with some of the more brazen ones wearing necklaces and rings sporting the symbol of the Hyakki. Other groups showed their colours, either with rune tattoos, closely cropped hairstyle or winged skull accessories.

The endless stream of students filed into the school's main entrance, the same crest on our uniforms hung above the entrance. The paint was partially peeled off, which exposed the worn bricks beneath. The words Chevalier's Rock High School below the crest had seen better days, for the bright yellow paint had now turned muddy.

Several adults stood looking bored but with an undercurrent of nervousness that lurked beneath their lethargic appearance. As the students entered the school, the teachers marked off a name from their list and the open hallway rippled like water as the students walked pass. A youngish looking teacher with curly brown hair approached, a nervous smile plastered on his face when Taylor and I looked at him.

"Orpheus! Welcome back." he then turned to face me, his gaze appraised me while his nervous tic was still evident in the tightness of his shoulders. He gave his hand and when we shook, his handshake was firm and well worn. So a teacher who sought the approval of everyone around him to mask a deep insecurity about his authority and competency then.

I smiled, as I showed only a hint of devlish cunning. The slight tightening of his brow informed me I had achieved the desired effect of unnerving him during the first meeting.

"Good to meet you too, Mr Gladly. Taylor's told me so much about you."

A quick, nervous glance at Taylor from Gladly, who remained stone faced at my fib. Bingo. A first impression that I'm a know-it-all who literally does know it all achieved. Word will spread among the student body soon, giving me potential leverage where needed.

"Call me Mr G, Ms Livsey, if you don't mind," Gladly spoke through his nervousness. "I'll call you Sarah too if we're on a first name basis."

"Yeah, nah," I said while playing up my smug act to the hilt. "Call me Sarah by all means, Mr Gladly. But let's not try to project your high school popular teacher fantasies onto me."

I felt Taylor swat the back of my head and I saw her irritated gaze before she turned to the gaping Gladly.

"Apologies for the rudeness of my friend, Mr Gladly," Taylor said," but you have been briefed by the Circle exorcists who were sent here yesterday of her condition?"

"Oh yes," Gladly quickly recovered as he resumed the persona of the friendly, eager to please teacher. "Sarah's from overseas isn't she? Sister Hannah called the principal and briefed me personally as well."

The evident pride with which he spoke of being addressed by that blind nun hinted of some kind of deep respect and awe that non-powered people have for exorcists and Marked in general. Either that, or it's because Sister Hannah is a senior figure in the local PRT. Not that surprising though, since Sister Anne and the rest of the nuns are apparently responsible for more than just taking out Others like exorcists are.

Goddamned magic, upending my worldview from day one when that redhead somehow knew my birth name and tried to eat me.

Gladly guided us, or rather he guided me while Taylor followed silently as we approached a side entrance on the right side of the school building. The outline of the door was painted white, and the smell informed me that it was a fresh coat that marked the borders. Then I laid my eyes on the iron door itself, a simple one that swung inwards and found all the Whispered Speech that was buzzing in the background of my head cease.

"Cold iron barriers," Taylor said curtly while her body stiffened. "Pride and joy of the Alchemist Order within the Sentinel Circle, and a sign of friendship with the Sisters of the Holy Convent's myriad orders who worked to forge and mass produce this and other similar tools."

Gladly walked pass the gate as it opened, his right hand tapped against the metal when he passed. He stood at the other end of the door, staring expectantly at us before we continued walking. Taylor went first after she drew her dagger, her tattoos hidden beneath her uniform and stockings glowed an ominous black when she passed the threshold. Gladly's posture slackened as Taylor entered without incident and she turned to face me, while I stood right outside the door.

The fact that the Whispered Speech is silenced when I look at it unnerved me, making it another mystery I have to solve before I gathered my courage and was halfway past the door when Taylor yelled out.

"Tap!"

I blinked at her blankly, before Taylor pointed at the door. I did as instructed, the unpleasant sound of of my knuckles against the iron caused me to wince as it broke the silence of the crisp winter morning. I then continued to walk past the door, while Gladly greeted me with a huge smile of relief.

"Thank God you passed the test! I heard you got assaulted by an Other outside a threshold, and I thought you might have been one of them in disguise."

"Or even a cultist who used one of their tamed Others in an attempt to worm their way into an exorcist's home," Taylor quipped before she sheathed her dagger and walked further into the room. A row of PRT troopers with their trademark mirror helmets lowered their shields as it was clear we weren't Others and filed out towards the main entrance. I watched them leave and made sure they were out of earshot before I nudged Taylor.

"Hey Taylor, why didn't you tap on the door?"

Taylor flashed her tattooed, uncovered hands in my face before we continued the walk further into the school.

"If I touched cold iron without using my enchanted gloves, they'd burn. They already had me walk past a cold iron door to ensure I've not crossed the line from Returner to Other."

Well, that's one query settled for me. We reached the end of the corridor into a larger one where the rest of the student body were mingling. It feels almost comforting to see so many people around my age being teenagers, even if my power itched to give me more information than I'd like about the likes and dislikes of the students here. Taylor's outright famous here, as most students gave her a wide berth or whispered in closed circles about her. There was plenty of space for the students to shove off from the path of the Returner though, thanks to the wide hallway, white washed walls and bright lights shining from brass lamps that hung high up, beyond the reach of anyone without a ladder.

We reached a row of lockers, painted deep green with hints of rust on the edges and nod no handles on the doors. All of them had small mirrors on the doors, similar to the one at the Nameless Hotel except for the small eye that grew on the glass. Taylor stood in front of one, and the eye glared at her before it shrunk and disappeared. The door swung outward and Taylor began to ruffle through her belongings inside. while I was hit with the smell of blood, garlic, salt and the other reagents I've come to associate my landlady with.

"The locker next to me is unoccupied," Taylor pointed at the one to her left, the eye on the mirror firmly closed. "Use it."

I stood in front of the mirror, as I stared at the golden eyelids before I gingerly held my left hand over them. I unleashed my power and felt a jolt of pain that coursed through my body so quickly I didn't register the pain before the numbness took over. As I recovered, my mind was flooded by a wave of Whispered Speech and I firmly placed my hand over the eye after I had digested the knowledge that I had deciphered. I took a deep breath, before I pressed down and hissed in pain as my fingers were cut as the eye drew blood through little pinpricks that shot out. My hand withdrew and the eye snapped open, which caused me to take a step back before it shrunk to nothing and the door swung open.

I've said it many times, but fuck this world is freaky. I dumped most of school material I didn't need inside, before I closed the locker and gave a wide grin to Taylor.

"What?"

"You're going to skip classes to investigate more on that centipede's hit on you," I said while my grin grew wider. "And I'm going to follow you."

Taylor's hand clamped down on my own, before she started to drag me towards the Principal's office.

"No you're not, Sarah," she said firmly even as I struggled. "You're going to get your education,and stay out of trouble."

/x/

Taylor/Orpheus

I watched with satisfaction and folded arms as Soothsayer was marched to home room from Principal Blackwell's office under the watchful eyes of Sister Missy and Chimera. By a stroke of luck, Missy was here to inspect and reinforce if needed the Khora wards, while Chimera was her partner and escort. Had they sent another pair, things would have been...awkward.

I patted the hilt of my Relic, while I tried not to think of what it was made from and how it was made. Soothsayer's ability no doubt will allow her to figure it out soon enough once her grasp on Whispered grows stronger, a thought that filled me with anticipation and dread in equal measure. Pushing aside those thoughts, I slid the dagger into the sheath hidden beneath my cardigan. I don't have my belt of reagents on me, and the ID charms sewn into the uniform's fabric to sort out doppelgangers and other disguises had the unfortunate side effect of interfering with some of the fu Taoshu charms and the Omnyoji Ofuda I have on me. I mentally sorted out the arsenal I do have on hand-six huozai fu charms, three Fujin ofuda and two vials of explosive alchemical mercury. All in a handy pouch I kept in my jacket.

Add that with my Relic and Dad as my Guardian Spirit, things might get messy if a fight breaks out. If only I had more non-lethal options or defensive ones.

I hummed a tune to calm my nerves and announce my presence as I walked into the East wing of the school, the feeling of a dozen pair of eyes as they glared at me almost made me nervous enough to reach for my charms and my Relic. I gave a slight nod as some of the Asian students glared as I approached a particularly large circle of them, the smell of burnt sandalwood and ash lingered when I got within spitting distance. A tanned boy with cropped hair squatted in the middle of the circle, his lanky frame made the jacket of his uniform hang loosely off him.

"Anuman," I said as I bowed my head slightly and pressed my palms together in greeting. Anuman frowned at my politeness, but stood up and returned the greeting.

"Farang," he said in the soft lilt and the unique way some Asians make an intended insult sound like a term of endearment. "You had approached me in clear view, unarmed and had performed the wai. As a Mau Pii I am obligated to at least hear you out."

"Seta has put out a hit on me," I said as his face went dark. "I want to know where his latest hideout and threshold is."

"You'd have me betray my tono?!" Anuman bristled while the rest of the Hyakki shot up.

"I'd relieve you of a burden by have him brought in by the Circle, the Convent Orders or the PRT," I snapped as I removed my phone and activated the Gigul." Or would you prefer to continue living under the heel of someone who'd do this to one of your own."

Anuman hesitated as he saw the telltale glow of a Gigul network connection being established, before he took out his phone and tapped it against mine. The way he ground his teeth as he seethed at Seta's message to me confirmed that Schwarz's information on the girl was correct.

"The actress, she's someone you know?" I asked casually when Anuman smashed his phone against the wall. His brown eyes burned with fury, and I smelled the stench of burnt lemongrass as he let loose with a torrent of expletives in Thai. Another burst of rapid-fire Thai and what I suspected was Khmer, before he shuffled closer and shoved a torn page from a notebook into my hands. I cast a quick glance at it, before I shook my heads and sighed.

"Your information is outdated, Anuman. Gui's threshold in that area of the Docks had already been removed when I beat him and handed him to the PRT."

"Gui's little more than an errand boy, Orpheus," Anuman hissed as he ripped the note back from me. "And I know nothing more. Go!"

I scowled as Anuman turned his back to me with his arms folded, a clear enough signal that he doesn't wish to speak further. I contemplated being a tad more forceful, but decided that discretion and not having the school admin fall on me was the better part of valour. I walked two steps away from him when my nerves felt a jolt at the presence of an Other approaching the guiding light on my left shoulder. I spun around, all three lights on my shoulders and forehead to face whatever thing had snuck through the rather impressive fields and threshold of Chevalier's Rock High. I felt relieved as I saw a deformed humanoid shape, swallow skin, sunken cheeks and a slit in the middle of the scalp huddled before my shadow, the bulging eyes fearful as it stared up at me. The toyol stuck its left hand into the throat, before it pulled out a slimy piece of parchment and spread it on the floor with a splat.

I pinched my nose as I knelt down to watch the map up close, and though the words were written in Thai, I recognised the Docks well enough to recognise where Seta might have his next nest in. I performed the wai at the toyol, who squealed in delight before it extended its deformed hands.

"I have no sweets on me," I said apologetically before the Other began stomping it's damp feet on the ground and emitted a high pitch wail that gradually got louder. I turned my vision to Anuman who was still pointedly looking away, before I sighed and fixed my glare at the pint-sized Other.

"Don't get used to it," I growled as I slashed a finger on my right hand. The toyol eagerly opened its mouth so wide that the lower jaw disconnected, but I suppressed my gag reflex as I squeezed a drop of blood onto the gaping maw of the Other. As the toyol eagerly lapped up the drop of my blood, Charon swept out of my Relic in a cloud of smoke and enveloped it before it can react and scream. Anuman turned around with an arched eyebrow as he watched my father turned Guardian Spirit digest the Other, even cracking a smirk as he heard the sound of bone crunching and chewing.

"You play rough with my kuman thong, Farang."

"Name's Orpheus, Anuman," I said while I bit down the retort that he's the farang here in the States. "I'm sure you learned the name of some of the Americans or other Westerner who lorded it over your hometown in Thailand."

"I was from the South, Farang!" Anuman spat out. "Do not compare me to those wastrels in Bangkok who never worked a day! If they had not sacrificed my home during that Bloodmoon to save themselves-"

The bell rang, and we both parted ways in a hurry as the hallway was flooded by students. A number of the Asians stared at both Anuman and myself before he barked an order in Thai to catch their attention. I hummed a tune as I walked towards my own class where Sarah was undoubtedly having the time of her life having all those knowledge of the world being crammed into her head, only this time I hum as I am genuinely satisfied at the result of my little chat with the Mau Pii. I took out my notebook and ticked off the list of possible locations where Seta was preparing his ritual site, determined to hit him before he is readier for me.

Taylor.

Dad's voice, and he's more worried than usual.

I know what you're gonna say Dad. I'm still joining the hunt for the Hyakki and Seta.

I could feel Dad's frown, even though he's not materialised.

Emma and my-

Are the fault of Seta and the Hyakki as much as it is of that bloodsucking leech wearing Mom's face, Dad!

It was weird, the thought of shouting in your head, but there you have it.

It's only three months before the next Bloodmoon, Dad. Brockton Bay should be so honored that the Bloodmoon might befall us.

Dad fell silent, while I continued my walk to my classes. Indeed,no other city still part of this side of the Veil had the Tear appear twice.


	8. Cantrip 1.8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School live and the calm before the storm. Taylor escalates.

Cantrip 1.8

 

 

/x/

 

I slipped in from the back door, just in time to see Mrs Knotts turn and face the class. Her brown floral-print dress hung over her body, rotund from age and lack of exercise while her glasses with the thick black frame slid down to the bridge of her nose as she stared silently at me. A few of the students also turned back before they quickly snapped their eyes forward once they laid their eyes on the Returner. Hmm, a few managed to shoot me a look of disgust. Maybe I'm feeling or looking more human now? Sarah sat at the front row, her head buried in the stack of notes and books on her desk before she looked up and waved at me almost oblivious to the looks she attracted from the others in the class.

 

"Taylor," Mrs Knotts gave what she thinks is an encouraging smile. "Glad you could join us. Please take a seat."

 

I nodded before I walked down the aisle, almost expecting someone to stick a leg out "accidentally". Even in this age where we exorcists pit our lives almost daily against the Others and the cultists, teenagers will be teenagers. Foolhardy and thinking they're invincible. But no one so much as shifted their chairs slightly to block me as I walked, with the most blatant attempt being someone new in class who coughed out an insult in which he called me a freak. I glanced sideways at the boy, who glared right back. He was bulky, had closely cropped dirty blonde hair, Saxon runes ritually scarred into his exposed collar bone and way too buff for a fifteen year old. I tilted just a little bit to the right towards him, and allowed a bit of control to slip as my eyes turned pitch black.

 

"Other!"

 

I made sure that my humourless laugh was loud and audible as I barked it out, though the sight of him as he toppled over from his chair away from me allowed my laugh to have some levity in it.

 

"Taylor..."

 

"Just doing my public duty as a registered exorcist, Mrs Knotts," I shrugged. "Remind the public what to do, when you're confronted by an Other."

 

I pointed a finger at the boy as he struggled to his feet, face still pale from fear.

 

"Generally, being terrified of an Other is natural. However, if you're going to fall over from fright," I paused as the sound of mocking laughter burst out from the class bar Sarah, "try to call the PRT first before you curl into a ball."

 

Another wave of derisive laughter. I guess the source of mockery isn't quite as important as the provision of something to project your weakness and fears since they're not giving me the stink-eye. The bulky teen tried to loom over me with his larger mass, his scowl and the way he tried to stare me down almost made me feel something other than sheer disbelief that someone would attempt to provoke a Returner.

 

"Listen, freak! I've-"

 

"Got nothing!" I snapped before the tattoo-and my humanity- over my neck faded. "Sit down!"

 

He collapsed again, as my amplified bellow bowled him over.

 

"Taylor!" Mrs Knotts shouted. “Seat! Now!"

 

One more snort from me, before I shrugged and walked over to the seat next to Sarah and settled in. Sarah snapped her textbook shut when I sat down, looked at the new kid and me before she gave me one of her trademark grins.

 

"Neat trick, mind teaching me?"

 

"You won't survive the tuition," I said before Sarah shook her head and smiled wryly. "What?"

 

"It's a joke, Taylor."

 

How was I supposed to know that?

 

"Social cues, Taylor," Sarah said with a smirk. "Not everyone who isn't a colleague is out to get you."

 

I waved her away before the teacher decided it was time for another "Lecture the trained, barely human exorcist" session again. A glint of light beneath her desk alerted me to the presence of a new phone hidden in the folds of her skirt, and Sarah made sure to give me a knowing smile when our eyes met. I flipped my Social Studies textbook to one of the blank pages, before I engaged in a time honoured student past-time. Doodling and private messages on your books.

 

How's your lessons going so far?

 

Sarah sat straight and kept her face fixed on the blackboard and Mrs Knotts while she played the role of the model student perfectly, but she was able to write the messages on her own textbook though she didn't cast a single glance in my direction.

 

Punctuation n proper spells for this u hopeless. stik up your ass. Learnt that hiking and outdoor activity outside cities r dead thanks to Others and food is grown in giant fort farms. Missed most of the lesson on Marks from her.

 

Well, that's a lot of writing for a simple note. I flipped a page as I continued writing before I noticed my textbook was all out of blank pages, since I had practiced writing my charms on this particular book. I settled for writing on a reasonably empty margin instead.

 

"Spelling and punctuation prevents misunderstandings, Sarah." I looked ahead at Mrs Knotts, for I preferred to picture Sarah's annoyed frown at my use of even more elaborate punctuation while writing clandestine messages. "Anyway, after this we're going to the Citadel for your ID. I think they've mapped out your Soul Profile."

 

Sounds unpleasant, Sarah wrote before she downed her pen as Mrs Knotts turned back to face the class.

 

"Alright class. With the exception of our new classmate and our resident exorcist," Sarah buried her face in the textbook while Knotts and the class looked at us, "the rest of you are to work on a five hundred word essay on the Marked."

 

The bell coincided with the collective groans of the class before they started streaming out of the class, books in hand. I walked over to the exit and waited there while Sarah peppered Mrs Knotts with more questions. I felt a tinge of curiosity as I watched my tenant squeeze every last bit of general knowledge out of the teacher and decided to sate it. I placed ring finger over my eyebrows and rubbed them clockwise three times before I snapped my fingers. Three globes of light appeared on the shoulders and forehead of the people around me, while the glare from my own Guiding Lights flooded into the edge of my vision. Sarah's own light burned brilliantly, much like someone currently high on life.

 

For someone who didn't have the lights at all when I first laid eyes on her at Vulcan's office, she had grown well. Sarah's face glowed with satisfaction and her Light as she was done with pestering Mrs Knotts and turned to me, her eyes arched as she caught me studying her. I rubbed both eyes counter clockwise to turn off my Third Eye lest I get blinded by the myriad lights of the student body or the people on the street.

 

"So," Sarah said, "how are my lights burning."

 

"Very well. You've gone native, Sarah."

 

I chuckled while Sarah gave me a punch on my shoulder, before we started towards our lockers. I watched Sarah carefully as she looked at the mirror on her locker casually, the nerves on display this morning a long forgotten memory.

 

"So, Taylor. Once we're done with me getting the mar-" Sarah paused as she reconsidered her choice of her words. "The Mark of the Beast is probably a huge taboo here isn't it?"

 

"Not as much as you think, Sarah. But good work catching yourself."

 

Sarah gave me the smuggest grin yet, which almost made me reconsider my next line. Almost, because I feel that she had earned this.

 

"You'll need to rein in your word choices if you're going to be my apprentice."

 

/x/

 

The midday sun beat down on us as we walked out of the Citadel's outer wall, while Sarah kept her newly obtained ID card pressed against her chest. Sarah's green eyes narrowed as she stared at the card again, specifically the small swirling whirlpool below her picture and personal details. A few PRT troops on guard detail, with their mirror masks pushed upwards glanced at my apprentice warily as she began to mumble.

 

"The icon has a copy of my soul in it," Sarah spoke in a low tone while she studied it. "I can feel my power going nuts trying to comprehend it."

 

Sarah shuddered, before she winced as she closed her eyes and I caught her ID card as it fell out of her hands. She took a deep breath, blinked rapidly before she took the card back and placed it into her wallet.

 

"My head just exploded with Whispered," Sarah said as she looked at me before she hissed in pain. "Fuck, this Thinker headache hurts."

 

"Don't rush it," I said as I took her hand and walked together to a roadside cafe bustling with PRT civilian staff and several exorcists. A shared glance with the waitress who usually served me quickly resulted in my usual black tea without sugar served in a mug, while Sarah got an herbal bland served in a cup and saucer. I took the china cup and whispered a calming Tao cantrip as I placed my lips above the brew, before I sipped the tea and placed the cup back onto the saucer. Sarah kept her eyes closed as she rubbed her temple, and I turned on my Third Eye to check her Guiding Light. Among the sea of burning orbs of varying brightness, Sarah's were flickering to a worrying degree which implied severe mental stress. I turned off the eye before I placed my hand on her shoulder, which finally got her to open her eyes and give me a tired smile.

 

"Thanks," she whispered tiredly. Sarah reached for the cup and took a sip of her tea, before her eyes widened as she sighed in contentment. She stared at the cup, took a sip before she hummed and rapidly drained the tea.

 

"That was great!" Sarah said, her now overly chirpy tone had me worried if I had overdone the cantrip or her power somehow affected the outcome of the cantrip on her. How her jaw tightened however as she stretched herself convinced me otherwise.

 

"You don't have to fight it."

 

"Who me? I'm not fighting a Master effect, oh no," Sarah said with, with a mild trace of heat in her voice. "I just drank a spiked drink, that's all."

 

"You're upset. Very upset," I said pointedly. "I take it there's a very big taboo on altering moods of people in your world?"

 

"Masters are handled very carefully in our world, yes. Look," Sarah paused as she chose her next words. Already, the signs of fatigue on her face had faded away. "I know that whatever you did with my drink was entirely benign, but it really freaks me out when people change my mind literally without informing me. That you did it when I was experiencing a Thinker headache makes it worse."

 

"I'm sorry," I said. "Considering the nature of your powers and how you're on an alien world, it must have hit too close to home."

 

"Any more than how you've got your Mark, Taylor."

 

I froze as I heard Sarah's words, before I looked away from my mug and at her.

 

"Yeah," Sarah continued," I'm not going to say anything more about how you've gotten your Mark, but between my powers learning and what I've studied of you and Marks? I've kinda figured out how you've gotten yours. Shit sucks doesn't it?"

 

"Sure does," I concurred. "Having your Mark thrust on you instead of earning it is extremely unpleasant."

 

"Meanwhile, on Earth Bet almost all triggers are life-shattering to a degree," Sarah said while she played with her cup. "Even the second gen triggers don't get it easy."

 

We sat in silence amidst the bustle of the lunch crowd of downtown Brockton Bay, before I placed my money on the bill placed next to my mug and left. Sarah followed closely behind, her expression thoughtful.

 

"So, apprentice huh?"

 

"I'd say partner, Sarah. But you know next to nothing on the Others and the occult, “I said while I checked the maps I scrawled in my notebook. “Though you probably deduced I'm not exactly ready for taking an apprentice."

 

"No you're not. But then-"

 

"Anyone else won't be able to stand you," I finished. I blinked before I realised why Sarah was wearing that amused expression. I rolled my eyes when she giggled as we walked towards Penelope's shop. Sarah's gaze swept across the midday crowd filled with curiosity and I heard her counting under her breath.

 

"Three million, give or take a hundred thousand or so," Sarah muttered to herself. "Just how many people were displaced from the smaller towns in this world?"

 

"While you're doing your census, Sarah," I said over her calculations," we will be getting a shroud for you."

 

"Shroud?" Sarah looked up and her eyes narrowed when she saw where we're going. "We're going to get me a shroud?"

 

"Yes, from Penelope no less. And I'm sure you'll be able to tell what it's for once you laid eyes on it."

 

/x/

 

 

/x/

 

I looked at the drugged rooster in my hand as I figured where best to plunge the knife I held in my free hand. When I asked Orpheus what's the best way to learn their magic that makes full use of my powers, I certainly wasn't expecting this. My tutor, a redhead exorcist named Boudica from the Sentinel Circle looked at me expectantly with her arms folded. Around me, the PRT troopers were checking their equipment one last time while the gathered exorcists were either mediating or checking their own reagents. I looked around for Orpheus, in the vain hope I could get out of this by telling her I changed my mind.

 

"C'mon Soothsayer," My tutor urged while I avoided looking at her work that was displayed on the folding table in front of us. "Do just as I told you. Tip of the knife beneath the throat of the rooster, then press in before slicing him open in one swift stroke."

 

I shuddered as I recalled the sight of fresh chicken guts spilling out of the carcass when Boudica displayed her skills. With great hesitation, I plunged the tip into the throat of the bird, and marvelled as the knife tore through bone and flesh with ease when I brought it down the torso of the bird. I almost hurled when the smell of freshly gutted chicken assailed my sense of smell, but I held it in and began to sift through the blood and entrails of the rooster which spilled onto the metal tray.

 

"Remember girl, “Boudica said," read the entrails by the candlelight and the moonlight. That's why we're doing this out in the open."

 

I nodded as I used the knife to slice the liver of the rooster open, and felt a flood of Whispered rush into my head before it started to evolve into something I was able to comprehend. My heart pumped harder as I felt a wave of excitement wash over me and I began going to town on the rest of the entrails, revelling in the revelations from this ritual.

 

"Four thresholds each, clustered around the four cardinal directions of the Docks," I intoned as I allowed my power to break down and regurgitate the information in a flat tone. God knows I'll find it hard to let myself try to make sense of the information I was being given. I let myself be lost in the tempo of the fortune telling as my knife stabbed into the tray with a tearing sound, before it carved a straight path out of the bloody pile in a northwards. I then drew a series of horizontal lines, each four inches along the length of the path I had mapped out. Boudica scowled as she saw my handiwork, but looked at me and waited for my verdict.

 

"Four thresholds in all four cardinal directions," I said as the high of the ritual wore off. "The Hyakki have set up a whole string of interlocking thresholds in their stronghold, but that's not the worst part."

 

I pointed at the northbound trail my knife had drawn out in blood.

 

"The thresholds are acting as batteries, supplying energy towards something Seta is planning on-"

 

"Captain's Hill."

 

Orpheus walked out of her house alongside Vulcan, Chimera and Sister Missy. I didn't blame her for the way she spat out the name of where Seta was holed up in though.

 

"The spot where the last Tear opened up thanks to the Hyakki attempting to invoke the Bloodmoon," Vulcan took over as speaker while Orpheus gripped the hilt of her Relic dagger, "and they almost successfully turned Brockton to the Other side of the Veil as well."

 

I nodded grimly as I recalled what Vulcan had briefed me regarding the Hyakki and the Bloodmoon. Since that incident two years ago, the PRT, the Convent Orders and the Sentinel Circle had come to an agreement that the Hyakki cultists had crossed a line and needed to go. Only an ongoing Purification campaign to reclaim most of the Midwestern United States prevented the needed resources from being diverted to Brockton Bay till now. I heard a loud howl before a large grey wolf appeared outside the fence of the Hebert house, cloaked in a wreath of shadow. The inky darkness rippled, before Schwarz stepped out and rubbed the neck of the wolf who chuffed in response.

 

"I've scouted out the Hyakki thresholds," Schwarz said as she patted her Spirit once more before she walked towards us and removed a map of the Docks from her coat. Four diamonds were drawn in the corners of the map, with an animal symbol of a peacock, Asian Dragon, tiger and turtle on each symbol.

 

"Sister Anne and the Order of the Silver Flame stand ready to hit the Suzaku Threshold on the south," Schwarz said as she pointed to the peacock, "While Ostanes-" Hmm? Vulcan's jaw tightened at the mention of that name while Schwarz's finger slid to the tiger on the west," and Brother Ethan of the Repentant Order is attacking Byyakko."

 

"Wait? My husband is fighting alongside Ostanes?" Boudica let out a nervous chuckle. “I never figured that he and Ostanes can stand one another."

"I suppose Sister Hannah's got Brother Ethan behaving like a proper clergyman, plus his Khoramancy and Runology would be invaluable," Schwarz said with a shrug before she pointed to the turtle on the north and gave a pointed look at Orpheus. My master frowned, but said nothing while Vulcan glared at both of them.

"Schwarz, Orpheus," Vulcan said tightly. "Not this again."

"I got dibs on Seta, Wallis. I personally don't care if Hess tags along with me, because so long as Soothsayer pulls her own weight using her adapting power I'll take the Genbu Threshold and go straight for the centipede himself."

 

"Not just about your personal vendetta, Orpheus," Vulcan said while his fists clenched. "Your history with Seta and the Tear does-"

 

"Indeed gives me the right for the first go at Seta, Wallis!" Orpheus pointed at the field camp currently centred on her yard-her threshold. "Unless the Hyakki began the invoking of the Bloodmoon, you have no right to refuse me the right to choose my targets when you're using my threshold as a staging area."

 

Vulcan's frown deepened, but pointed his finger at the dragon on the east.

"Dracul's homunculus are on the way, Orpheus. And if things go well soon enough Midwest, so will the Inner Circle of the Sentinels."

Orpheus remained silent, before she nodded and grabbed a radio headset before we departed for the convoy of awaiting Preacher truck escort for our destination. Schwarz entered the Preacher first, followed by the platoon of thirty PRT troopers who filed into the black truck one by one. Before I could enter, I felt Orpheus grab me by the shoulder and I turned around. My master looked hesitant, as her eyes darted around and she licked her lips before she took out a red pouch made of leather. I detected no sudden burst of Whispered as I scanned the pouch and the red string that sealed it, but a glance at Orpheus confirmed one thing to I had already strongly suspected.

 

My master cum landlady is a nutcase with severe issues, even for someone who dabbled in magic that uses menses blood as an active ingredient.

 

"No way in hell, Taylor," I hissed under my breath while I used her civie name to drive home the point. "We barely knew each other for two days and you want me to hold something like this?!"

 

"No way Hess is going to pull the seal on it if it comes down to the crunch, Soothsayer,” Damn this stubborn bitch, "while Wallis is more likely to pull me completely from the op completely if he knows I'm using this."

 

"Can't you just pull your permission- damn! There's a loophole here isn't it?" I said as my power pieced things together, "If you pull your support and expel the PRT and their allies from your threshold because you're denied your choice of target, you're invoking your rights. But if you're mentally unsound..."

 

"Wallis didn't become head of the Sentinel Circle ENE without knowing when to side-line someone and rule lawyer, Soothsayer." I felt a snap of cold grip me as Orph- no, Taylor pressed the pouch against my jacket. I touched the cold leather of the pouch, while I stared into her eyes which turned pitch black for a second before reverting to their usual brown. Damn girl, you're broken!

 

"You freaked out when you started to visualise my dad properly after your power adjusted." Taylor whispered as she hugged me while slipping the pouch into my jacket, "So yeah, if I'm too far gone then you know what kind of horror I will become."

I shuddered involuntarily as I recalled the feeling of utter revulsion from my first proper understanding of the wrongness of an Other, while I reached and touched the pouch Taylor slid into my clothes. My master gave me a sad half-smile before her face resumed the nonchalant mask she usually wore and strode into the Preacher. I felt dizzy as I pondered the fact that Taylor trusted me to such a degree that she'd place something that had a fragment of herself to me, and the tragedy that she cannot find someone here to entrust this to.

/x/

Anuman walked lightly as his feet touched the polished wooden floor of the stairs to the raised dais that towered over the abandoned container park that once served a thriving shipping industry before the Tearing of the Veil made sea travel too dangerous when the sun wasn't in the sky. The Mau Pii's thin, wiry frame shivered as he reached the top of the stairs and kicked off his sandals, before he knelt and placed his forehead onto the wood and pressed both his hands firmly onto the floor of the dais. Anuman's eyes watered and he felt his forehead grow wet with perspiration at the heat from the green fireballs that rested on top of braziers that lined the length of the dais. Distant screams in the background that were quickly snuffed out, while Anuman tried not to look at whatever it was that lurked in the impenetrable darkness that shrouded the place beyond the white torri gate he had entered the threshold from.

Ignore the whispers, Anuman, the Mau Pii thought to himself. There is much danger there.

Anuman kept silent and prostate, while his lord pondered whether or not he was worth listening to. A literal weight was lifted off his shoulder when Anuman felt pressure depart from his back and he was allowed to raise his gaze to the tall, wiry man seated in front of him on an elevated level, with two tatami mats below him. His white robes formed a stark contrast with the black peaked cap he wore, held onto his head with a black string while the red ballooning pants seemed to absorb the green glow from the flames. A gaze from the narrow eyes of the man dressed in full court regalia reminded him of the cobras in his native Thailand before they struck, and Anuman pressed his forehead onto the ground again.

"Anuman," the Mau Pii's heart slowed down as he heard the nonchalant tone adopted when he was addressed. "the Exorcists of the Circle and the Convent Orders. You have passed on my instructions to the Returner as ordered?"

"Tono," Anuman said as he slowly raised his head, before he saw no sign of displeasure and fixed his gaze onto Seta. "They have taken the bait, though despite everything I doubt they will be unprepared."

A casual smirk, and Anuman once again pressed his head against the floor before he heard a cold chuckle from Seta and the Mau Pii dared to raise his gaze once more.

"The upstart Exorcists who struggle against the natural ways are always suspicious, Anuman."

Anuman knew that the man who stood up from his seat on the tatami mats was a mere puppet created by the fukuda, but he bit down the choke reflex as Seta turned around and walked further into the darkness behind him. The wood and mat he walked on decayed as a black sludge bubbled and melted them, while deep claw marks were stamped onto the floor next to every step Seta took.

"Hold them off long enough, Anuman," Seta's voice sounded to Anuman as if he had spoken right to his ear, even as the cultist leader walked ever further into his threshold. "I do not expect you to hold on that long anyway, but try to prove your worth."

Those farang are fools! Anuman thought as he snuck careful glances at the departing form of the phantom image of his lord.

One does not defeat the gods or their pet demons. One begs from them.

/x/

A/N. Next up- the oncoming storm and then the probable end of this arc. Again, all comments and questions welcome.


End file.
